Chapter 63 – Money – Part 4

Chapter 63 – Money – Part 4

Kim Taehyun chuckled and immediately called the Chinese restaurant.

“Two black bean noodles, one stir-fried black bean noodles, and a large sweet and sour pork, please. Oh, just a moment.”

Kim Taehyun asked Woojin again.

“Woojin, a large portion?”

“No. A regular portion. Lots of pickled radish.”

“OK, lots of pickled radish.”

Woojin turned his gaze to the photos pinned on the large whiteboard.

A total of seventeen people.

In ‘I Want to Know the World,’ he had only heard modulated voices, but Woojin looked at their faces as if imprinting them in his mind.

Just then, Choi Gicheol asked in an expectant voice.

“Woojin, can you get a feel for it just by looking?”

It’s Woojin, so you never know.

Because he truly deduced and caught the criminals with unexpected ideas.

“No.”

Choi Gicheol gave a wry smile.

He was a fool for foolishly expecting Woojin to have some kind of supernatural power.

“But I can generally tell what kind of lives these people have lived.”

Choi Gicheol’s eyes widened.

“You can tell things like that? Is it like physiognomy?”

“It’s similar. Most of them have lived difficult lives.”

“Hey, Choi Gicheol? Your older brother is unpacking boxes, and you’re just here on a picnic?”

Choi Gicheol quickly began to organize the materials.

Woojin helped him.

They neatly placed the suspect’s materials on the table.

As time passed, the suspect’s materials were mostly organized.

Woojin, who was flipping through the documents, said,

“Isn’t the delivery too late? It’s been over 30 minutes. The golden rule for Chinese food delivery is 30 minutes, isn’t it?”

“These people! They were making my younger brother wait?”

Kim Taehyun picked up the phone again.

“I think I’ve waited over 30 minutes…”

Kim Taehyun hung up the call and said,

“They just left.”

Woojin, who had his eyes fixed on the suspect’s photos, said,

“It’s highly likely to be a lie.”

Woojin, who had been looking at the photo, soon began searching for something on his cell phone.

He repeatedly zoomed in and out on what he saw, nodding his head.

Choi Gicheol subtly approached, curious about what Woojin was doing.

“Woojin, what are you doing?”

“If the jajangmyeon left now, it wouldn’t take 10 minutes, even if they drove about 30 to 40 kilometers, considering the distance and geography.”

“Were you looking into that?”

“Yes. Usually, to prevent the noodles from becoming soggy, they put the noodles in a container and sprinkle water on them. Then they pour the sauce, but that’s only a temporary solution. If it’s late, it’s all useless.”

Choi Gicheol shook his head and laughed.

He thought Woojin was investigating something about the suspects, but he was calculating delivery times.

“Woojin, how about a quick briefing before the jajangmyeon arrives?”

“Okay.”

Kim Taehyun approached the whiteboard.

He wrote a profile under the picture of a person on the far left of the whiteboard and spoke.

“His name is Gu Sanghwan, 72 years old. He was 62 at the time of the incident. A large number of fingerprints were found at the scene, and like 16 others, his alibi was uncertain. According to his statement, he went to the senior center for a short game of Go-Stop in the afternoon and then went home…”

“It seems he lives alone.”

“As expected of Woojin, uh, that’s right. So his alibi was…”

Kim Taehyun’s explanation continued.

Woojin listened, flipping through the documents as if skimming them.

“Kim Cheolmin, visually impaired, but he’s a top reporter. He’s 69 years old.”

Just then, someone loudly knocked on the iron door.

Woojin was the first to react.

“Who is it?”

“Delivery.”

The payment was done, and Woojin, along with Kim Taehyun, placed the food on the table.

“Let’s eat first~. Woojin, what’s wrong? Does it not look good?”

Woojin’s expression was slightly stiff.

“No. They didn’t even give much pickled radish.”

There was little pickled radish, and the delivery was 10 minutes late.

“See, it’s always like this when you ask for a lot of pickled radish.”

Woojin said.

“Even if we assume they were busy, this person clearly doesn’t care about their customers. The delivery should have arrived 10 minutes ago, but it was delayed by another 10 minutes. Thinking about it the other way, it could be a store that isn’t doing well…”

Kim Taehyun and Choi Gicheol let out hollow laughs.

They had gathered to catch a criminal, but instead, they were trying to find out who made the black bean noodles late and who delivered them late.

Choi Gicheol subtly pushed his pickled radish towards Woojin.

“Woojin, I don’t need to eat it.”

“This precious thing… Thank you.”

“Let’s eat, let’s eat.”

All three of them began to mix their black bean noodles.

Then, Choi Gicheol suddenly asked,

“Woojin, did you order dry black bean noodles because you thought it might be late? Because it’s less messy?”

“Yes. Detective Kim calling without even looking at the reviews made me a little uneasy.”

“Uneasy?”

“Yes. That’s why I didn’t order half-and-half noodles.”

Kim Taehyun, with black bean sauce on his mouth, chuckled.

“This older brother made a mistake. I’ll be careful next time. Hahaha!”

***

Three hours later, all the brief briefings were over.

It meant that the identification of the suspects was complete.

Choi Gicheol watched in a daze, unable to close his mouth.

It was because Woojin had processed the documents, which even they hadn’t fully reviewed, at an incredible speed.

And he even spoke the contents aloud, so it was impossible to express in words.

Kim Taehyun asked.

“Woojin, do you think there’s a criminal among the 17 people?”

“Yes. I think there will be.”

Woojin’s firm answer relieved the two of them.

If Woojin had said there wouldn’t be, this time would be meaningless. And they would have to start over from scratch.

“Where should we start the investigation?”

“I think we should start by interviewing Mr. Kim Cheolmin, the Candle Reporter.”

Woojin intended to meet everyone face-to-face.

“Okay, shall we go right away?”

“Yes.”

The three of them immediately got into the car and left.

As they were nearing their destination, Woojin, who was sitting in the back seat, spoke up.

“Please put on the siren. You don’t have to turn on the sound.”

“So you just need to let them know the police have arrived?”

“Yes. If the criminal still lives in this neighborhood, they’ll show some reaction.”

That could even be a very subtle change in expression.

Soon, Woojin got out of the car and headed to Kim Cheolmin’s house with Kim Taehyun.

Choi Gicheol decided to stay in the car and watch for anyone acting suspiciously.

After about 10 minutes, they arrived at a place that looked like a small villa.

Kim Taehyun rang the doorbell.

“Who is it?”

“I’m Detective Kim Taehyun. Could we talk for a moment?”

The door soon opened.

It was 69-year-old Kim Cheolmin, with wrinkles scattered across his face.

Woojin quickly scanned his face.

Overall, his face gave off a droopy impression.

His eyes, cheeks, and mouth all seemed to sag.

His pupils were cloudy, just as he’d heard about visually impaired people.

However, seeing his pupils subtly dilate when he opened the door a moment ago, it seemed he could distinguish between day and night.

His physique was slender.

Kim Taehyun smiled and spoke.

“Hello, sir. May I ask you a few questions?”

“Last time, it was the broadcasting station… Is this about that incident from ten years ago? I understand the detectives’ position, but everyone in this neighborhood is struggling. You should be chasing a strong suspect. Do you think investigating everyone, like before, will lead to any progress?”

This time, Woojin spoke.

He’s a person who loves books.

“You have a rich vocabulary, sir. I completely agree with you. That’s why I’m here to see you. You’re also Reporter Choi Candle, and the neighbors speak highly of you. They say you’re smart and very knowledgeable.”

The corners of his mouth subtly turned up.

Compliments can be a way to please the other person like this.

If you start with a compliment rather than implying, ‘You’re also a suspect,’ the other person’s positive psychology is activated.

Woojin spoke again.

“Convenience stores and supermarkets seem to be far away in this neighborhood. If it’s not too much trouble, could I trouble you for a glass of water?”

“Yes, come in. You must be having a tough time.”

And so, he naturally went inside.

Woojin intended to scrutinize each suspect closely.

The inside was modest. No, ’empty’ would be a more accurate description.

There was nothing but a dining table, a sofa, and a television.

As Kim Cheolmin fumbled his way to the water purifier, Kim Taehyun followed.

“Sir, I’ll pour it for you.”

“How can you? You’re a guest who hasn’t been here in a long time; I should be the one to serve you water.”

While Kim Taehyun and Kim Taehyun were doing that, Woojin looked inside.

There were two rooms in total, all with closed doors, but there were no thresholds.

It seemed like they had been removed because of a visual impairment, like a candle.

“Let’s all have a refreshing drink.”

Kim Taehyun, who gulped down water, raised his voice slightly.

“Whew~ now my thirst seems to be quenched. Thank you for the drink.”

“Don’t just stand there, please sit on the sofa.”

“Thank you.”

Sitting on the sofa, Kim Taehyun took out his notebook and asked,

“I know it’s distressing, but the day you reported it. Could you please explain that day once again? It would be a great help in catching the criminal.”

Kim Cheolmin slowly nodded his head and opened his mouth.

“It was the day the rain really started to fall. The rainy season had begun. Since I can’t see, people like me like rainy days. When the rain taps on the umbrella, it feels like I can see something. Around 8 o’clock, I headed to the Senior Center. I always went to the Senior Center at that time to watch dramas. I couldn’t see the screen, but it was more fun to be with many people. Among them, the words of the deceased grandmother were enjoyable.”

Kim Cheolmin’s expression was tinged with sorrow.

He seemed to be recalling the image of the grandmother who died by the criminal’s knife.

“That grandmother would happily tell me what expressions the actors were making, where the location was, and what they were eating. But that day, there was no one there. It was quiet and the door was open. As soon as I entered, I fell. At the time, I thought it was water, but it was sticky…”

Woojin, who had been standing and looking at his face, moved towards the room as if there was nothing more to hear.

Being sensitive to sound, he carefully opened the door.

A bed and a small table next to it.

And dust, bathed in light, was simply floating around.

That was all that was in the room.

Woojin opened the door to another room.

There was a desk and a bookshelf that could hold about 50 books upright.

Of course, the bookshelf was full of books.

There was a wide variety of books, including books on health, cooking, and books with philosophical phrases.

Woojin approached the desk.

A rubber mat was laid out to fit the size of the book, and there were holes in the rubber mat as if it had been pricked with needles.

I carefully opened the drawer and easily understood.

Woojin looked around again.

There was no notebook.

Woojin turned his body again and approached the bookshelf.

Woojin, who was looking at the title, eventually took out a book.

[Philosophy and Ideology]

It seemed to be his favorite book, and he read it whenever he thought of it, as it had the most subtle but noticeable smudges from his hands.

Rustle-

The paper made a pleasant sound as it turned.

The contents of the book caught Woojin’s eye.

He couldn’t see the letters, and the paper was bumpy like dots.

It was Braille.

Woojin could interpret it with his eyes, but he closed his eyes and placed his hand on the book.