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chapter 67
Inside Jin-young’s van on the way to the set.
[(Exclusive) Top Star Yoon Jin-young. Questioned by police as a suspect in a murder case.]
“Hey! Stop the car!”
Jin-young, staring blankly at his phone just moments ago, now shouted furiously as the car kept moving.
“Hyung! What’s wrong? What happened?”
Startled by Jin-young’s near-scream, his manager quickly pulled the car over to the shoulder and turned toward him.
“Hey, what is this article? Who the hell wrote this?”
Jin-young’s face flushed red with anger as he waved the phone displaying the article in front of his manager.
“Uh! Uh! Wait a moment. I’ll call the company immediately and check.”
While the manager called the agency to figure out the situation, the comments under the article scrolled on Jin-young’s phone:
[dsgjl**** Yoon Jin-young. It’s over. It’s finished.] Likes: 20,512 Dislikes: 4,542
[UFUS**** So much for a heartthrob. Turns out he’s just a killer.ㅋ] Likes: 1,524 Dislikes: 445
[gjljjke**** Acting all innocent while being so disgusting. Seriously gross.] Likes: 1,524 Dislikes: 445
[rdryt**** Oppa… a murder… no! That can’t be!!] Likes: 854 Dislikes: 1,214
[qjpjp**** But I still trust you, oppa. Stay strong!!!! We’re here for you.] Likes: 547 Dislikes: 84
Jin-young’s thumb scrolled rapidly through the comments. But no matter how fast he tried, the next wave of vicious messages came faster than his eyes could follow. His breathing grew heavier.
“Ah—shit!”
He hurled the phone onto the van seat, then shouted again.
“Hey!”
He roughly grabbed the shoulder of his manager, who was still on the phone.
“W-what? Wait, what’s wrong?”
The manager, startled, held the receiver away from his ear and turned.
“Hang up and go there immediately.”
Jin-young gritted his teeth, fuming.
“Go where? First, you need to deal with these articles!”
The manager’s face paled at the incomprehensible anger emanating from Jin-young.
“Go! Just go! You idiot! Go to Chang-su’s room salon!”
Unable to contain his rage, Jin-young kicked the driver’s seat from behind and yelled.
“Yes… yes… okay.”
The manager, completely out of his wits, hurriedly drove off while Jin-young made an urgent phone call.
“Hey! I’m on my way, so call everyone. If I say call, then call! Don’t argue—call them right now!”
“Whoa… seriously? Is this real?”
“No way. Our oppa couldn’t have done that.”
Girls on the bus whispered excitedly, eyes glued to their phones.
Cha-rin, who had been staring out the window with earbuds in, glanced at a classmate’s phone screen in disbelief.
Her eyes widened. Jin-young’s police questioning was trending on the main page of online news.
“No… no way…”
She hurriedly removed her earbuds, her trembling fingers swiping the screen.
Trending search results:
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Yoon Jin-young
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Yoon Jin-young murder
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Murder suspect
Beep—
Cha-rin’s hand accidentally brushed the bus stop bell in her panic.
Moments later, the bus stopped, and she leapt off, waving frantically for a taxi.
“No… no way…”
Her face pale as chalk, she muttered under her breath while quickly pressing the phone call button.
After a few rings:
[“Hello?”]
A deep voice came through the receiver.
“This is Cha-rin.”
Outside the police station, near the lounge.
“I’ll go in right now…”
“No. You can’t, Cha-rin.”
♪♩-♩♪♩-♬
“I will—please let me.”
♪♩-♩♪♩-♬
“Cha-rin, I said no. This time… at least take the call first.”
♪♩-♩♪♩-♬
Chief Choi, using the phone ringing in Cha-rin’s hands as an excuse, tried to redirect the situation. The hope he had felt when Cha-rin initially called to meet had long since shattered.
“Hah—”
Cha-rin reluctantly exhaled and looked at the name on her phone screen:
[Seung-hyun]
Of course, it was Seung-hyun. Though he had said he’d be a little late meeting Ji-eun today, the confrontation with the stubborn Chief Choi had already made her late by over an hour.
Naturally, the call came. But without hesitation, Cha-rin swiped the end-call button, erasing the name from the screen.
“Who are you to hang up like that?”
“More importantly, please let me go in. There’s definitely something going on.”
Her voice rose slightly.
“We’ll find out about that ‘something,’ so don’t worry. Just go back now.”
Chief Choi lightly patted Cha-rin’s shoulder.
Under normal circumstances, Cha-rin would never have hung up Seung-hyun’s call so abruptly, raised her voice at Chief Choi, or come seeking him alone.
But…
Yoon Jin-young.
Those three syllables had driven her straight to Chief Choi.
“Why? It’s not difficult. Like the other cases, we just go in, check if it’s true or not, and come out.”
Right now, Cha-rin’s mind was consumed with clearing Jin-young’s name.
“Cha-rin, why are you so stubborn today?”
Chief Choi sighed, placing his hands on his waist. He couldn’t allow it.
If Jin-young really had killed someone…
If the man she admired so deeply were truly a murderer…
The shock to Cha-rin would be unbearable. He could never allow that.
“Why not? If you can go into other people’s memories, why not oppa Jin-young’s?”
But Cha-rin did not back down.
“This time, we’ll handle it ourselves without your help. So don’t worry and go back.”
Chief Choi spoke firmly.
“No. Let her. We can’t let an innocent person be accused. So…”
“Cha-rin!”
“…”
For the first time, Cha-rin saw Chief Choi angry. She couldn’t hide her surprise.
“…Sorry for yelling…”
The words had slipped out, and Chief Choi’s face went pale, unsure how to react.
“….”
But Cha-rin’s head stayed bowed.
“Cha-rin… I know you’re worried about Yoon Jin-young, but…”
He didn’t even know what he was saying. Embarrassment and guilt washed over him. He just wanted someone to end this awkward situation.
Then.
“Cha-rin, what’s going on here? And Chief Choi is here too?”
Like a savior, In-hye walked toward them, smiling brightly.
“Why is the atmosphere so tense? What happened?”
She cautiously observed their expressions.
“Oh, nothing. I was just asked by the Women and Youth Division to help counsel sexual assault victims.”
“Busy day.”
“There’s been a lot of these cases lately. I just finished a session at the Prosecutor’s Office this morning.”
“Yes, there are many such cases.”
“But why are you here, Cha-rin? Why do you look like that? You didn’t get scolded by Chief Choi, did you?”
In-hye asked, worried.
“Scolded? How could I….”
Chief Choi waved his hands awkwardly, a small smile tugging at his lips, but his heart felt heavy as if carrying a stone.
Cha-rin had been like a child to him for the past ten years. Someone he cherished, yet someone whose walls he could not fully break.
And now, he had yelled at her—causing a rush of guilt and sorrow.
“Hmm… If Cha-rin says yes, Chief Choi wouldn’t have said no. So what’s really going on?”
Unaware of the previous tension, In-hye looked between them playfully.
“I was going to… Yoon Jin—”
“I invited her to eat, but something urgent came up, so I couldn’t.”
As Cha-rin prepared to speak, Chief Choi cut her off.
“So you really were supposed to eat together, just the two of you?”
In-hye asked in shock. Eating alone with him? Unthinkable.
“Well… we did eat. Haha.”
Even Chief Choi laughed awkwardly, realizing the absurdity of his own words.
“Huh—”
Cha-rin sighed in exasperation, unable to comprehend why Chief Choi opposed entering Jin-young’s memories.
“Cha-rin, what’s wrong? Why that expression?”
In-hye, always observant of Cha-rin, noticed immediately.
“I guess I’m still upset about canceling the promise. Then let’s eat another time, and go carefully. Teacher Jeong must be busy.”
Chief Choi’s voice quickened, eager to end this tense moment.
“Cha-rin, then let’s go eat together. I was already wondering about dinner. While we eat, tell me what you wanted to discuss earlier. Not about romance, I hope?”
But In-hye, unaware of Chief Choi’s intentions, smiled brightly and gently put her arm around Cha-rin.
“Teacher.”
At that moment, Cha-rin looked at In-hye with a determined expression.
“Yes? What is it?”
“Cha-rin…”
Chief Choi, realizing he could no longer stop her, rubbed his forehead, looking helpless.
Suddenly, the usually quiet police station outside erupted into noise, breaking the tense silence around the three.
“Is this the place?”
“Yeah. Do you know the detective in charge?”
“When was the investigation? And the follow-up?”
“But who leaked this first?”
“Looks like a reporter from Focus Ilbo.”
Journalists with cameras and flashes, eyes blazing, pushed through the police station gates.
“Chief, what’s going on? What’s happening today?”
In-hye looked at Chief Choi, surprised.
“Ah—Hah, Reporter Han is always too extreme.”
Chief Choi shook his head helplessly at the chaotic crowd. Only Reporter Han could have caused this commotion.
“Teacher Jeong, sorry, I have urgent business. Please take care of Cha-rin.”
“Yes, don’t worry. It’s loud, though. Did some politician get called in today?”
In-hye glanced toward the noisy reporters.
“No. Then be careful, Cha-rin.”
As Chief Choi tried to enter the station,
“Really, I can’t?”
Cha-rin, desperate, grabbed his sleeve one last time.
“Let’s talk about that next time. Keep this just between us.”
Chief Choi whispered quietly in her ear and gently freed her hand from his sleeve. He glanced at In-hye, realizing handling both of them at once would be too much. Fortunately, In-hye was distracted by the throng of reporters.
“Teacher Jeong, I’ll contact you later. Cha-rin, make sure to treat the teacher to something delicious.”
Cha-rin ran into the station, glancing back at Chief Choi with a look of mock reproach.
“What should we eat? Tell me anything you want.”
In-hye gently guided Cha-rin outside.
“Let’s eat later. Help me first.”
Cha-rin stopped, turning with urgency.
“What? Just tell me. I’ll help you with anything, Cha-rin.”
In-hye smiled brightly.
“Help me get in there.”
Cha-rin looked straight at In-hye.
