Chapter 173 – Peace – Part 9

Chapter 173 – Peace – Part 9

No one said anything when Woojin announced he was taking a vacation.

Not only had he handled his work flawlessly, but Woojin’s recent exploits were more than enough reason to send him off as encouragement.

Woojin, who took a two-day vacation, got on the bus and looked at the passing scenery.

Amidst many landscapes flashing by, the Children’s Foundation also came into view.

Woojin anonymously donated all the money he had been hesitant to give to the Reporter there.

Of course, he pulled his hat down low and quickly left the premises.

Woojin took advantage of the warm sunshine and the absence of people to slightly open the Deputy Manager’s window.

A cool breeze entered, and a faint smile played on Woojin’s lips.

It was because he was thinking of someone.

***

During dismissal time, middle and high school students were pouring out of the Ira School Main Gate.

Among them, a girl with a very well-suited bob haircut stood out; it was Han Bora, who had become a third-year middle school student.

Hundreds of millions were circulating in Han Bora’s stock account, but she told no one.

Perhaps saying she didn’t show it was the accurate expression.

It was because of Woojin’s words.

‘You have to earn money quietly. Otherwise, bad people will inevitably flock to you.’

Han Bora faithfully kept Woojin’s words, like a steadfast supporter, and always followed them.

A friend next to Han Bora asked,

“Bora, two more boys are attending the Book Club today, and Eunha said they’re handsome, didn’t she?”

“Really?”

“Yeah. She said they look like some idol, but I can’t quite remember who.”

As Bora nodded, her bob haircut swayed.

Bora, going through puberty, wasn’t entirely uninterested in the opposite sex, but she valued the Book Club itself greatly.

It was a gathering where they read Books, summarized them, and shared condensed stories. She felt she could experience reading multiple Books even if she only read one.

This was because others would meticulously share their summaries, what impressed them, and their feelings.

Of course, she always read the Books she wanted to see with her own eyes at the Library.

“Should we go get a burger?”

At her Friend’s words, Han Bora nodded with a fresh, spring-like smile.

Her dimples were very charming.

“Okay!”

Then, Han Bora’s eyes widened slightly as she was about to cross the crosswalk.

Someone on the opposite side was raising their hand as if to say ‘hello’.

It was none other than Woojin.

After staring blankly at Woojin for a moment, Bora started to run.

“Mister!”

At that sight, Woojin’s eyes quickly scanned their surroundings.

No dangers were found, and the corners of Woojin’s mouth turned up further.

Bora, running towards him, seemed to be playing in slow motion,

It had been exactly six months.

The child who was so small had grown so much.

She was growing up very beautifully.

Hug!

Bora, who hugged Woojin tightly, said,

“I missed you!”

Woojin gently patted Bora’s small shoulder.

“I missed you too.”

“Then you should have come to see me sooner.”

“Sorry, Bora. People are staring.”

As Woojin said, the students’ eyes were on them.

“Are you embarrassed?”

“No. I feel like the police are going to show up.”

“Well, that won’t do.”

As Bora got down, Woojin looked at her eyes gazing up at him.

Bora’s eyes, like the sky, were so clear.

Just then, Bora’s friend approached and asked,

“Bora, who is this? Hello.”

“My life mentor! Sujeong, I’m sorry, I don’t think I can make it to book club today.”

“Huh?”

“Sorry. Tell the others I’m sorry too. Instead, I’ll treat you to burgers next time!”

“Oh…”

And so, Woojin and Bora started walking. Bora made an ‘oops!’ face and took a lollipop out of her bag, offering it to Woojin.

It was the lollipop Woojin enjoyed eating.

“Here you go.”

Bora always carried this lollipop in her bag, thinking of Woojin.

“Only our Bora would do this.”

“Hehe.”

As Woojin put the lollipop in his mouth, Bora likewise brought a lollipop to her mouth.

“How’s school life? Is it fun?”

“Yes. I think there’s too much rote learning, but it’s still fun.”

Woojin nodded, as if proud of Bora.

Her grades were always top-tier, but Bora’s interest wasn’t in grades.

It was in investment.

She viewed everything in the world, not just stocks, as an object of investment.

It meant she was observing the world from a completely different perspective than ordinary people, looking at land, buildings, people, and so on.

He had also been consistently donating, always putting Woojin’s words into practice.

‘What you give, you get back.’

‘And be grateful for even the smallest things.’

“Have you eaten?”

“I haven’t eaten, waiting to eat with our Bora.”

“Then… I’ll treat you to pasta! I know a really delicious place!”

Bora blocked Woojin’s path and gave a thumbs up.

“Absolutely delicious!”

“Good. Then I’ll treat you to ice cream.”

“Yay!”

Bora jumped up and cheered.

Han Bora was so happy at this moment.

Her Daddy-Long-Legs, a pillar who always provided shade and a cool breeze.

Woojin, the mister.

Woojin saw Han Bora like that and smiled gently again.

This is why peace is needed.

That’s why he dislikes bad guys.

***

A day later, the place Woojin found was near the scene where the murder case occurred.

Woojin calmly examined various spots around the studio apartment.

The suspect, presumed to be the criminal, wearing a mask and a hat pulled low, and carrying a bag, entered but did not come out. Or rather, their image was not captured on CCTV.

However, the studio apartment window was open.

If they jumped from the third-floor window, it would lead to an alley, but at the end of that alley was an intersection where CCTV should have been installed to capture the criminal’s image, but it wasn’t recorded.

It was no exaggeration to say that the criminal had vanished.

Nothing was missing from the scene, so the police determined that an acquaintance criminal or a grudge was highly probable, and they investigated her husband and acquaintances as suspects.

However, they all had clear alibis.

However, the husband was considered the most likely suspect because he stated that he had been drinking with an acquaintance who lived upstairs for a long time and had dozed off at the acquaintance’s house for a while.

The wife’s estimated time of death was between 9 and 11 p.m.

The husband’s statement that he had dozed off at his acquaintance’s house was around 10 p.m., similar to the wife’s time of death.

According to the husband’s acquaintance, after running out of alcohol and buying more, he returned home and found the victim’s husband dozing, so he woke him up and sent him home.

The police cross-referenced this with CCTV footage.

The acquaintance who bought the alcohol was recorded smoking a cigarette near the studio apartment building and talking on the phone with someone for 10 minutes before entering the building.

Upon investigating the call history, it was confirmed that the call recipient was indeed his girlfriend.

And ten minutes after he finished his call and went inside, the husband’s report was filed with the police.

The police were currently considering the husband as a prime suspect and were interrogating him.

It was possible if, while his acquaintance went to buy alcohol and was on the phone with his girlfriend, he had gone home, killed his wife, and then returned to his acquaintance’s house, pretending to doze off.

There were a few defensive wounds on the victim’s hands, but the murder happened in a single strike.

The knife, presumed to be the murder weapon, pierced the xiphoid process and precisely struck the heart.

Death by excessive bleeding accompanied by shock.

It meant he was determined to kill her.

It’s not uncommon for children to kill parents, parents to kill children, husbands to kill wives, and wives to kill husbands.

It was right to be suspicious and investigate if there was even the slightest room for doubt.

But Woojin’s thoughts were a little different.

What if everything that was shown was a fake?

The open window at the scene, and the people coming and going.

Woojin recalled the most suspicious person among those captured on the CCTV footage that Detective Kim Taehyun had sent.

A person in a windbreaker, wearing a hood, with a bulging stomach, and a faint mustache was also visible.

He shuffled out in slippers.

The police checked the alibi of the man living in the studio apartment; he said he couldn’t clearly remember when he left his house, but there was nothing distinctly suspicious, so he was excluded from the investigation.

Woojin recalled his attire from the photo once more.

The subtle wrinkles on the windbreaker he was wearing were not ordinary.

His walking in the CCTV footage, too.

Considering his body size, his gait should have been slightly different with the weight on his joints, but he seemed quite light-footed.

Woojin, who had been thinking about him for a moment, quickly organized his thoughts.

It is highly probable that the criminal has murdered more than once.

He understood the bone structure and accurately aimed for the heart.

Woojin thought the thug in the windbreaker was likely the criminal, but he kept all possibilities open as he headed towards the entrance of the studio apartment building.

Of course, he was also developing an algorithm that the husband might be involved in the crime in some way.

Just then, his cellphone vibrated.

It was Detective Kim Taehyun.

“Yes, Detective Kim.”

-Woojin, what do you think of the data? Do you think we’ll find anything?

“I’m at the studio apartment right now.”

-What did you say?

“I came to meet the victim’s husband.”

-No, why did you go there? I just asked you to take a look… Oh dear… It’s my fault.

Kim Taehyun had not expected Woojin to make a move at all.

His fellow detectives considered the husband the most likely suspect,

but Kim Taehyun, looking at Woojin, said that like a dog at a local school for three years reciting poetry, it seemed the husband was not the criminal.

And he handed over the data, and that was all.

He never dreamed that Woojin, who was working as an officer, would take action.

“It’s alright. My job is to catch bad guys. That’s why I came.”

-I’ll be right there.

“You don’t have to come. I’m a police officer too.”

-No, no. I’ll be right there. Don’t go anywhere, okay? I’ll be right there.

After the call, Woojin entered the studio apartment building.

He stopped at room 303 and pressed the doorbell.

Ding-dong- Ding-dong-

Soon, a man’s voice came through the intercom.

“Who is it?”

“It’s the police. We have some questions.”

A sigh came through the intercom, and he soon opened the door.

Park Homin, 31, with a slender jawline and deep double eyelids, looked quite gaunt.

He also looked exhausted.

He spoke, looking at the new-faced Woojin.

“I told you everything. That’s all.”

Woojin, who had observed his expression in a flash, nodded.

And he threw out the words he wanted to hear.

People only see what they want to see, and hear what they want to hear.

Rationalizing themselves, what benefits them and what harms them.

“I don’t think Mr. Park Homin murdered Ms. Shin Heeyeon. And I think I’ve found a clue.”

A strange light flickered in Park Homin’s eyes.

“Really?”

“Yes. Can we go inside and talk for a bit?”

He ran a hand through his hair and replied.

“Yes. Come in.”

As Woojin entered the hallway, Park Homin’s figure melted away like computer graphics,

And the murdered Shin Heeyeon, startled to see him, appeared as if caught in his eyes.

Woojin.

Click.

He locked the door and covered her mouth.

Recalling everything from the crime scene photos.

He was re-enacting the incident as a complete criminal.