Chapter 118 – Result – Part 26

Chapter 118 – Result – Part 26

Their gazes were all fixed on Woojin.

Woojin, who was staring at the video, spoke.

“Do you have the call log?”

“Oh, yes! Just a moment.”

When Assistant Manager Choi Jeonghoon left, Kim Taehyun’s eyes lit up as he spoke.

“Bingo? Did you find something?”

Woojin nodded.

“Yes.”

Woojin moved the Mouse and began rewinding the video.

Then, he replayed the video from the point where the Tutor entered the Coffee Shop.

“As he comes in, he briefly acknowledges the CCTV. Just for a moment.”

The Tutor rubbed his forehead and glanced at the CCTV for a moment.

“It’s a Coffee Shop he’s been to a few times before. His gait is quite relaxed, and he doesn’t look around much. He doesn’t scan the counter or the seating area. He only briefly gazes at what seems to be his designated seat. A spot where the CCTV can capture him well.”

The Forensic Investigator blinked and asked.

“You think he intentionally sat in a visible spot?”

“Yes. His actions speak for themselves.”

“It could be a coincidence, couldn’t it?”

“It could be.”

In the video, the Tutor sat down and checked the time.

Just then, Assistant Manager Choi Jeonghoon returned to his seat and handed Woojin the Call Log.

Woojin scanned the Call Log, placed it on the table, and spoke again.

“He takes out a Book. And he opens the Book. This could be interpreted as his appointment not being punctual, or that he came early to enjoy reading.”

Woojin turned his head slightly to look at Choi Jeonghoon.

He nodded in response.

“I heard the appointment time was exactly 7 PM.”

Woojin slowly nodded his head, looking at him.

As Assistant Manager Choi Jeonghoon smiled awkwardly, Woojin turned his head back to the video.

“He receives a call.”

As Woojin said, just a few minutes after opening the Book, the Tutor reached into his inner pocket.

Then he answered the incoming call.

The call was very brief.

The cell phone went back into his inner pocket.

“Tutor, I assumed Ira would be highly focused because of the title, but I was wrong.”

He glanced at the book for a moment, then reached into his inner pocket again, pulled out his cell phone, and made a call somewhere.

At this moment, Woojin pointed to a part of the call log.

“He calls the victim at 6:45 PM. Look. The date and time in the video match exactly.”

As Woojin began his deduction, Kim Taehyun smirked and crossed his arms, and the National Forensic Service people nodded as if it were obvious.

Woojin opened his mouth.

“What did he say? ‘Come carefully?’ ‘Arrive first.’ ‘Or come slowly?’ The call ends in 3 minutes. I think he probably urged her to come quickly. The victim, whose last movements were captured at the convenience store, had her hands busy opening her bag to take out her wallet while talking on the phone, which was propped on her shoulder.”

The forensic investigator narrowed his eyes and mumbled.

“If the tutor’s urging naturally seeped into the victim’s actions…”

Woojin replied as if answering.

“The tutor created the cause, and the result was the victim’s actions. The tutor’s call made the victim act hastily. But what she bought in a hurry was just a hair tie. The victim was well-dressed, to the point where she didn’t even need a hair tie. However, the reason she still bought a hair tie, even while being rushed or thinking she might be late for an appointment, can be explained surprisingly simply. Look. The tutor opened a book, but he seems quite restless.”

As Woojin said, the tutor kept turning his head to glance at people.

Mainly looking out the window and at the cashier,

“He peeks at women as if he’s ogling them. But his gaze lingers on specific individuals.”

Choi Jeonghoon asked, curious.

“Specific individuals?”

“Women who have a hair tie and expose their necks.”

The forensic investigator’s eyes widened as he watched the video, listening to Woojin’s words.

He had heard something like that from the professor before.

That criminals scout for targets to commit crimes against.

‘Someone is watching.’

Thinking that, and looking at the tutor in the video, he got goosebumps.

He was truly only looking at women with hair ties and exposed necks, sending his gaze in a righteous path where he wouldn’t be caught.

He didn’t even glance at women with long, flowing hair.

Woojin said,

“The slender neckline has a carotid artery flowing through it. It’s a part that people who desire conquest or unconsciously want to be superior to others like. It can be said that it’s similar to the tendencies of criminals who commit crimes, who feel exhilaration from having a person’s life and death decided by their own hands.”

Choi Jeonghoon’s face brightened slightly as he noticed Woojin’s nuance of implicating the tutor as a suspect, and he asked,

“While the actions of the tutor and the victim make sense as you said, the tutor has a solid alibi, so it would be difficult to put him back on the suspect list……”

At that moment, the manager raised his hand and cut off Choi Jeonghoon’s words.

“Hold on. Continue.”

Woojin nodded and said,

“You could think that. Let me summarize. The tutor called the victim, making the victim’s actions urgent. The victim, who entered the convenience store while on the phone, could have immediately turned around and left, but she hurriedly bought a hair tie. This is proof that she knew the tutor’s preferences well. As can be seen from the tutor’s gaze at women with hair ties and exposed necks. The victim most likely liked the tutor. If we observe a little further here.”

Woojin resumed the paused video.

As the appointment time approached, he looked at his wristwatch.

And when it was exactly 7:00 PM, Woojin stopped the video.

“At the exact time, he takes out his cellphone and calls the victim one more time. No, he calls twice. But she doesn’t answer. He’s an interesting person. Usually, people put their cellphones on the table, but he takes his out whenever he needs it.”

The video continued, and after ten minutes,

“He seems to be sending a message. He looks like a candle. His legs, which were crossed outward, are uncrossed, and his feet are pointing outward as if he’s about to leave immediately. He slightly turns his head, scanning his surroundings. It feels strongly like he’s looking for an escape route, not watching a woman with a hair tie. Even now, when a woman passes by, he quickly raises his head. Like someone who saw someone who shouldn’t be there.”

Choi Jeonghoon said,

“Perhaps he’s worried?”

“You seem to be saying that someone who leisurely took out a book to read from the beginning can’t wait 10 minutes. I have a different idea. The book was for show, and he deliberately rushed her. Rushing is like brainwashing, telling the other person to think only one thing. The person being rushed becomes anxious, and their vision and thoughts narrow like an alley, leaving them defenseless against danger.”

For example, it’s the same when you see people crossing a crosswalk.

Someone who is at ease, without any restrictions or rushing, will look both ways before crossing even when the light is green, but someone who is being chased will only look at the green light and move quickly.

If the other person is superior to them, and they rush them, that power becomes even greater.

In fact, sociopaths often use this in everyday life to manipulate others.

Woojin suddenly accessed the internet.

“What is the location of the convenience store, the last place the victim was filmed?”

Assistant Manager Choi Jeonghoon called out the address, and Woojin entered it to display the satellite image.

“There are three paths to the coffee shop where the tutor is. Two of them are a bit long.”

Woojin zoomed in on the satellite image.

“The distance is short, and there are scattered alleys. The reason it’s difficult to track the victim’s movements after the convenience store is because the victim entered a narrow area with no CCTV.”

Woojin continued, watching the tutor send a message and make a call.

“The tutor first calls the victim at 6:45 PM. The victim becomes rushed and chooses a shortcut, leaving the convenience store. The time it took for the victim to buy a hair tie and leave was 1 minute 30 seconds. The phone call with the tutor was 3 minutes. Approximately 12 minutes remain until the appointment time. The distance between the convenience store and the coffee shop is a 10-minute walk. There’s no road across the street, leaving 2 minutes. Even if there’s a small error, it’s not important. The key is that the victim, who likes the tutor, is hurried and unable to look around. There’s a high possibility that the kidnapping occurred along this line. It’s highly probable that the kidnapping happened immediately after the call with the tutor ended.”

Choi Jeonghoon’s eyes widened as he asked,

“I understand, but…”

Woojin continued,

“Look here. The tutor, who had the cellphone to his ear as if still on a call, crosses his legs. As you know, crossing your legs interlocks the pelvis, pubic bone, thighs, and knees, fixing the movement of the pelvis and providing stability, which reduces the activity of the pelvic and thigh muscles, leading to a feeling of comfort. It’s not a good posture, but… The important thing here is that his anxiety was resolved by the last call. He’s also drinking coffee. He turns a page of the book. He looks relaxed, like someone who can wait indefinitely while reading a book.”

“But there’s no evidence…”

Just then, someone knocked and entered the office.

It was the detective in charge of the case Woojin was discussing.

He smiled awkwardly, looking at Woojin’s group gathered in one spot.

“You all seem busy? But I’m really at my wit’s end too. Why else would I come here like it’s my own home? Is there anything new yet?”

The manager answered.

“It seems like something might come out.”

“Really?”

As the detective approached, Kim Taehyun gave a wide smile.

“You seem very lucky today.”

“Who…?”

The detective looked Kim Taehyun up and down, as he didn’t look at all like a National Forensic Service researcher, and Kim Taehyun stated his affiliation and said,

“There will likely be two criminals.”

The detective’s eyes were strongly colored with curiosity.

The answer came from Woojin.

The detective’s gaze shifted from Kim Taehyun to Woojin.

There’s something missing from the tutor call log.

Woojin rewound the video.

It was the scene where the tutor made the first call.

Even though a call was made, there’s no record. Two identical cell phones. One is a burner phone, and they probably alternated using it, putting it in their inner pocket. The last call also seemed to be about 2 minutes and 20 seconds, but it’s not in the call log.

The detective blinked and asked Woojin,

Who are you?

The criminal has a strong preference for hair ties, specifically black hair ties, that expose the neck. The victim, found dismembered, also had their eyes and mouth sewn shut with black thread. They have no history or criminal record, but a partner helped them with the murder. This partner is very meticulous. They are well aware that DNA can be detected with just a slight touch of the hand. They also know very well how to dispose of evidence, like an expert. Seeing as they pressured the opponent into a defenseless state, they are also skilled in psychology.

The detective asked again,

Who are you?

Woojin took his eyes off the video and looked at the detective.

Surprisingly, I think we can identify the suspect quickly. Detective, have you eaten yet?