Chapter 92 – Reaction – Part 20

Chapter 92 – Reaction – Part 20

At Kim Taehyun’s curse, Moon Joongsoo put down his spoon.

It seemed he had found something out, as he was suddenly talking about the process of making Seolleongtang.

He had learned some facts by searching various things online, and it was advantageous for a reduced sentence to quickly admit when hidden evidence started to surface one by one.

“Detective, actually…”

Before Moon Joongsoo could finish his sentence, Kim Taehyun’s foot kicked the table.

“Gah!”

Seolleongtang spilled over his head, which had hit the table, and his butt was burning.

“Aaaah!”

Kim Taehyun approached him with eyes that looked like they would devour him.

“Is it hot?”

As always, he started kicking, as if human rights, discipline, and everything else were unnecessary.

“Is this hot!?”

Thwack!

“The deceased!”

Smash!

“How hot must it have been! Huh!?”

“P-Please call a lawyer… Gak!”

“A lawyer, you son of a bitch!”

Just then, people rushed into the interrogation room.

“Oh, you’re doing this again! Stop it, brother!”

“Lift him! Lift him!”

They lifted Kim Taehyun into the air.

“Let go! Let go, you bastards!”

Kim Taehyun, who was forcibly carried out, gasped for breath and ran his hand through his hair.

Then he looked at Choi Gicheol.

“I told you to go to the scene, so why are you still here?”

“I was waiting because I knew you’d be like this, senior. What is it? He’s the one who killed him, right? It doesn’t make sense logically.”

“That’s obvious! That crazy bastard brewed the victim. Brewed it, strained it, put it in a blender, and then ground it again.”

Choi Gicheol’s expression crumpled.

But he soon regained a calm expression.

“So that’s why you mentioned a pot or a cauldron. He’s really a crazy bastard. Senior, calm down for now. You might actually get disciplined this time.”

Kim Taehyun nodded.

“Discipline?”

With that, he turned back to the Interrogation Room he had just exited.

“I’ll just kill that bastard and take the discipline.”

“Whoa, whoa! Calm down! Calm down! What are you doing? Quickly, take our senior away.”

At Choi Gicheol’s words, those around him began to soothe him and leave.

Watching them, Choi Gicheol shook his head.

“You really can’t stop him.”

He always repeated, ‘All we have to do is catch them,’ but whenever he catches a criminal in cases like these, he tortures them as if he’s going to devour them…

It was incredibly fortunate that he had turned off the CCTV just in case.

Shaking his head, Choi Gicheol entered the Interrogation Room, seemingly to check on Moon Joongsoo’s condition.

He looked ridiculous, covered in Seolleongtang.

Still, it didn’t look like he’d been hit in the face, as there were no swollen areas.

Choi Gicheol asked,

“Are you okay?”

Clutching his side, he said meaningfully,

“Please call my lawyer.”

Slap!

Choi Gicheol’s hand made Moon Joongsoo’s head snap back.

“I’m asking if you’re okay right now. Answer my question with only ‘yes’ or ‘no.'”

“Lawyer…”

Slap!

“You bastard…”

Thump!

Choi Gicheol’s kick landed in his abdomen.

“Gasp!”

He clutched his stomach and crouched down.

“Get up.”

“De-Detective….”

Thwack!

A kick similar to Kim Taehyun’s also came from Choi Gicheol.

“Then sit down and take it, you bastard!”

Thwack! Thwack!

Just then, someone violently knocked on the door.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Hey! Choi Gicheol, open the door! Open it, you bastard!”

Choi Gicheol, who had suddenly stopped kicking, quietly said to Moon Joongsoo.

“We don’t have much time, so I’ll finish you off quickly.”

Thwack! Thwack!

Bang! Bang!

“Open the door!”

Bang!

Soon, as the Detectives broke down the door and entered, Choi Gicheol, who had been beating Moon Joongsoo, raised both hands.

“Alright. Alright. I’ll go out.”

“Hey, you bastard. Are you crazy?”

“You shouldn’t have touched his face!”

“Ugh… That stubborn bastard, I think he’s becoming like Senior Kim.”

One of the Detectives who said that approached the Criminal.

With a cold gaze, he said.

“Hey, you fell down the stairs. Got it? Answer me, you bastard.”

***

The staff and organizers who finished filming went to Small Urban Forest for a company dinner.

It was a place that elegantly exuded the atmosphere of a Korean traditional restaurant, with beautifully arranged roof tiles.

Lee Hongmun, Jo Jeonghwan’s senior, muttered as he got out of the car.

“Why would we eat beef at a place like this…?”

It was a slight shock to him, who had imagined a noisy, ordinary beef restaurant.

The filming staff and organizers were just as surprised.

“Wow… Deputy Manager Lee is really treating us!”

“I’ve never been to a place like this before!”

“It looks really expensive?”

At that moment, Woojin’s voice reached Lee Hongmun’s ear.

“The cold noodles here are also very delicious. Let’s go in quickly, don’t stand around hurting your legs.”

“Oh, really.”

Just under 30 people took their seats.

They were horrified when they saw the menu.

Because the price of the most expensive Korean beef was written as 150,000 won per serving.

It was the price of the 1++ No.9 beef that Woojin had mentioned.

A flustered Lee Hongmun did some mental calculations.

If he roughly estimated 30 people and ordered one serving per person,

‘Four million five hundred thousand won…’

If they ordered more meat, alcohol, and additional items…

It would easily exceed five million won.

Lee Hongmun’s gaze fixed on Woojin, who was sitting opposite him.

A voice that people dared not utter came from Woojin’s mouth.

“1++ No.9 beef, should I order it?”

The faces of several actors flashed through Lee Hongmun’s mind.

It was more than the entertainment expenses for actors, and he had never spent this much money at any company dinner before.

What would the higher-ups say…

Lee Hongmun said,

“Ahem, I’ll have the pork ribs. Today, I’m craving something sweet. Everyone’s hungry, so we should order rice too, right?”

Lee Hongmun said it to everyone, but Woojin was the first to answer.

“I think it’s not a bad idea to order rice after trying the meat. And after eating meat, isn’t cold noodles a must?”

“Ahem. Cold noodles, good…”

“Then, since we decided to have a beef dinner, Deputy Manager Lee Hongmun will have pork ribs, and everyone else can order 1++ No.9 beef. Here you go.”

Woojin lightly raised his hand and placed the order.

Of course, he also ordered alcohol and drinks.

Side dishes came out, and a grill for four people to cook on was placed at each spot, while a personal grill was placed only in front of Lee Hongmun.

Sizzle-

As the waiter cooked the meat to perfection, people began to move their chopsticks.

Woojin also lightly dipped the beef in salt and put it in his mouth.

Then he closed his eyes and slowly shook his head.

“As expected, 1++ No.9 beef…”

Exclamations erupted from all over.

“Wow, what is this!?”

“It tastes like it’s worth the price…”

“Is this really meat? Isn’t it cotton candy?”

“Two more servings here!”

“Please add one more serving here too!”

Lee Hongmun forced a smile and brought a piece of pork rib to his mouth.

Then he suddenly asked Woojin,

“Mr. Woojin, have you really never acted before?”

Woojin, who was bringing the beef to his mouth, said,

“Just a moment.”

Woojin’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he savored the taste like a gourmet.

“As expected, it’s a taste that never disappoints. Yes, this is my first time acting.”

“You act so well that it’s hard to believe. Ask everyone here. They won’t believe it either, will they? Honestly, you’re hiding something, aren’t you?”

Didn’t he try to hide his name at first?

Woojin’s expression suddenly became resolute.

He looked like a soldier who had made a decision on the battlefield.

Woojin acted immediately.

He placed a well-cooked piece of beef on Lee Hongmun’s plate with his chopsticks.

“Try it. It’s a taste you’ll find hard to believe. I found it hard to believe before I tried it too.”

Lee Hongmun, who had a blank expression wondering what he was talking about, picked up the meat with his chopsticks.

He couldn’t help but eat it, seeing Woojin staring at him as if he had handed over an immense treasure.

Soon, a piece of beef entered his mouth.

‘What… is this?’

His eyes widened slightly.

It was the moment when his preconception that beef all tasted the same completely vanished.

It truly was a new world.

Just as he felt the savory taste, the meat disappeared in his mouth.

Woojin slowly nodded his head, as if he understood Lee Hongmun’s feelings, and said softly,

“Should I add three more servings?”

***

Police Station.

Detective Kang Woohyuk quietly looks at the two people’s photos.

It was a photo of two women, a missing person case where they vanished as if evaporated from an area.

A murder case also occurred 15 km away from that area.

A small mumble escapes his lips.

“Ms. Choi Hyanggi, Ms. Lee Minji, where did you go? Please give me a hint.”

“Detective Kang Woohyuk?”

At the sudden sound of a voice, Kang Woohyuk’s gaze moves upwards.

A man in his late twenties stands there, his face so pale it’s almost ghostly.

He had a very handsome face.

“Who…?”

“I’m Choi Jeonghoon, the fiancé of the missing Lee Minji.”

“Ah, please have a seat here.”

Choi Jeonghoon places the drinks he bought down and sits in a chair.

Then, bowing his head as if in prayer, he speaks in an earnest voice.

“Detective, I know you’re busy, but please. Please find our Minji. Please… I beg of you.”

“We are also actively investigating. We are investigating based on the call log and checking all CCTV footage. We will contact you immediately if anything comes up, so please trust us and wait.”

Choi Jeonghoon, who had been bowing his head, looks at the detective with bloodshot eyes, as if he had stayed up all night.

“Perhaps, perhaps I could also see the case files? I think I might be able to help. Please.”

Kang Woohyuk makes a troubled expression.

“I’m sorry. I understand your feelings, guardian, but…”

Choi Jeonghoon grabs the detective’s hand and blurts out words.

“Detective, you recently had a physical altercation, didn’t you? The opponent was a woman, so you couldn’t use much force. It seems you haven’t been home for two days. You’re single and don’t have a girlfriend. Your parents seem to have gotten you some herbal medicine because they’re worried about you living alone, but it looks like you haven’t taken it today.”

Kang Woohyuk recoils, sitting as if startled.

Choi Jeonghoon leans in and speaks quickly.

“Detective, I can definitely help. Our Minji. Let’s find her together.”

Kang Woohyuk suddenly stands up and raises his voice.

“This person right now! Are you investigating me behind my back!? Don’t you know that’s a crime!? This person is hopeless…”

“Cut!”

At the voice of Director Jo Jeonghwan, the filming stopped.

Jo Jeonghwan sighed in exasperation and ran a hand through his hair.

Kim Min’s acting as the Detective was good.

However, Park Inhyeok, who played the role of the protagonist Choi Jeonghoon, acted awkwardly. No, Park Inhyeok, who had a strong fanbase in his twenties and thirties, was definitely a good actor.

But something was missing.

Compared to Shin Woojin.

The powerful aura he exuded when he first met Woojin, the way he seemed to see right through everything about him, was not there.

He couldn’t see the gaze that had dissected him so thoroughly.

It was almost like that feeling.

When you watch an amazing movie,

And you want to feel that thrill again, so you search for similar movies, but you can’t recapture that original excitement.

Simply put, he couldn’t describe it as anything other than his standards having risen.

Jo Jeonghwan felt a tightness in his chest, not knowing how to convey the atmosphere Woojin had shown to Park Inhyeok through words.

“I thought it was pretty good,”

“Yeah, isn’t Director Jo being too sensitive?”

Such whispers from around him didn’t reach Jo Jeonghwan, and as the two Actors approached, Jo Jeonghwan forced a smile and said,

“Let’s take a 20-minute break.”

Jo Jeonghwan stood up, unlocked his Cellphone, and looked at Woojin’s name.

Just as his thumb was about to touch Woojin’s name.

Jo Jeonghwan scratched his head.

His fingers wouldn’t move properly, feeling like he was relying too much on Woojin.

Jo Jeonghwan, who had been staring at Woojin’s name, let out a hollow laugh.

“This is truly driving me crazy…”

At that moment, Woojin’s voice seemed to echo.

‘You have to hit ten million.’