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Chapter 68
Inside a café.
“I’ll just hang up. I’ll try again.”
“No, they probably can’t take the call right now. Let’s just wait.”
Seung-hyun reached for the call button again, but Ji-eun stopped him.
“By the way, where did they go?”
“Probably to the police station.”
Seung-hyun sipped his hot chocolate, blowing on it.
“The police station? Why there?”
“Her uncle is a police officer.”
“Police?”
Ji-eun froze mid-bite, holding a fork with a piece of cake.
“Yes. He sometimes appears on TV. He’s extremely famous for having one of the highest arrest rates in the country.”
Seung-hyun’s eyes sparkled as he talked about Chief Choi.
“Oh… I see. So she’s close to her uncle? Meeting him all the way at the station?”
Ji-eun lightly nodded and took another bite of cake.
“Close? Not exactly. Cha-rin’s personality is a bit blunt.”
Seung-hyun smiled quietly, as if sharing a secret.
“Blunt? She seems so kind, gentle, and beautiful. Isn’t she popular with the boys at school?”
“Popular? Well… not exactly lacking, but she’s so chic at school that the boys find her a little intimidating.”
Seung-hyun leaned back on the soft sofa, chuckling.
“Really? She must be different at school then.”
“People act differently depending on who they’re with. Cha-rin smiles like that because she’s with you. She doesn’t smile much at school.”
“I see. Thanks for telling me that.”
Ji-eun sipped her coffee and smiled warmly.
“But I think you must be really popular. You’re kind, considerate, beautiful… and now you have one of the best jobs in the country as a civil servant.”
“Why are you flattering me all of a sudden? What do you want to eat?”
Ji-eun waved her hands shyly, playing it off, but her eyes couldn’t hide the smile.
“Really. I even told Cha-rin you must be popular. But if you meet only us, when do you have time for dating?”
Seung-hyun carefully put down his mug. He had been wondering whether Ji-eun had a boyfriend, and now seemed like the right moment to ask.
“You need someone to date first.”
Ji-eun smiled brightly.
“Really, no boyfriend?”
“Nope. And right now I have work to focus on, so I don’t have the time or heart to meet anyone.”
Ji-eun looked out the window, a mysterious smile on her face.
“Okay… But what’s that book?”
Ji-eun pointed to a book beside Seung-hyun on the table, trying to change the subject.
“It’s a Chinese character certification book. I’m hopeless at Chinese characters—it’s killing me. Can you help me?”
Seung-hyun pushed the book toward her, smiling.
“I’m not good at Chinese characters.”
“Come on, help me. You passed the civil service exam, so of course you’re good at it. It’s even a test subject.”
“That’s true… but once I pass, I forget everything like magic.”
Ji-eun pushed the book back toward Seung-hyun with an embarrassed smile.
“Please, at least help a little. My teacher said studying Chinese characters makes reading legal codes or criminal procedure texts easier, which helps with the police exam.”
“Nowadays, everything’s in Korean… But do you want to be a police officer?”
Seung-hyun pouted cutely, and Ji-eun couldn’t help but smile, pulling the book closer.
“Yes. I want to be a police officer.”
At the word “police,” Seung-hyun’s eyes sparkled.
“You’d suit it well. What kind of police officer do you want to be?”
“Of course, one who catches the bad guys is best.”
“That’s important, but I think it’s more important not to make innocent people suffer.”
Ji-eun leaned on the sofa, speaking earnestly.
“Not make innocent people suffer?”
Seung-hyun tilted his head, confused.
“Sometimes, power beyond the law can hide the truth. Seung-hyun, become the kind of officer who looks out for people treated unfairly.”
A faint sadness flashed across Ji-eun’s face.
“Then, for the future officer Seung-hyun, this sister will help. Alright, let’s start with what you don’t know.”
She quickly masked the sadness with a bright smile, opening the book with a determined look.
“…Idioms and their meanings.”
Seung-hyun hesitated, pointing to a section in the open book. He wanted to ask why she suddenly seemed so sad, but somehow, now didn’t feel like the right time.
“Then let’s show the power of a Korean civil servant! This idiom… is about…”
Ji-eun rolled up her sleeves and began explaining. After a while, her lesson was nearly done.
“Understand now? Any other questions?”
“One last one. What does ‘Borrowing a knife to kill’ mean?”
Seung-hyun pointed to the idiom at the corner of the page.
“Hmm—‘Borrowing a knife to kill.’ It comes from The Art of War. It means using someone else’s power to eliminate an enemy. You don’t dirty your own sword but strike the opponent. That’s the idea.”
“Kind of a sneaky way to do it.”
Seung-hyun frowned.
“Really? I think it’s kind of cool.”
Ji-eun smiled faintly, a hint of mischief in her expression.
Inside a high-end room salon.
“Come on in.”
“Everyone’s here?”
Before the automatic doors fully opened, Jin-young rushed in, snapping at the waiter at the desk.
“Yes, they’ve all been waiting. Follow me.”
Walking down the dimly lit corridor, Jin-young’s face was flushed, contrasting with the cool lighting.
“This is—”
Bang!
Before the waiter could finish speaking, Jin-young slammed the door open.
“Oh—here you are. Why call us suddenly? What’s going on this time?”
Chang-su, seated at the head of the table, stood slowly as he saw Jin-young. But Jin-young didn’t speak, instead scanning his three friends with eyes filled with anger and suspicion.
Chang-su’s expression said, Not this again.
Hyun-bo stared at his phone, ignoring Jin-young.
Seung-han drank silently, looking troubled.
“Why are you standing? Sit down.”
Hyun-bo, still focused on his phone, smirked.
“Who are you?”
Jin-young’s short, cold question made all three look at him simultaneously.
“What do you mean? Who? And don’t call us like this. We didn’t have time to hang out anyway.”
Chang-su frowned, annoyed at Jin-young’s behavior.
“Who is it!”
The louder he got, the angrier Jin-young became.
“Did you drink during the day? You’re really prickly today. Hey—by the way, I saw online…”
Hyun-bo smirked at his phone, when suddenly—clink!
Jin-young threw the glass on the table toward the wall behind the three friends.
“Is he crazy?”
“Hey! What are you doing?!”
“…”
The three stared in shock as Jin-young shouted.
“Damn it! Which one of you three is it!”
His rage cut through the room like shards of glass.
“That bastard… where from…”
Chang-su jumped up. Though he wanted to understand Jin-young’s stress as a friend and suspect, this was too much.
“Shut up and stay still! Who told the reporter I was questioned as a murder suspect!”
Jin-young ignored him, snapping his fingers to indicate they should sit.
“You….”
Chang-su clenched his fist at Jin-young’s commanding tone.
“Why bring it here? We didn’t do it.”
Hyun-bo looked scared.
“Then the person in the article’s phone, friend A, is a cop? Are you saying only we knew? Huh?”
Jin-young shook his phone, veins bulging.
“How do I know who you told besides us? Maybe you talked while drinking. You tend to black out when drinking, can’t remember, right?”
“Oh—Shim Hyun-bo. From what you’re saying… it’s you?”
“No! Not me.”
Jin-young’s suspicion turned to him. Hyun-bo waved his hands, startled.
“No. Only you guys would do something like this. I know trash like you well.”
Jin-young pointed and sneered. The three stiffened.
“You act all sweet in front of me, but always plotting behind my back. Trash. You don’t even know who made you live like this.”
Jin-young’s venomous words didn’t end.
“Hey! Yoon Jin-young, are you done talking?”
Chang-su snapped, unable to take it anymore.
“Why? Because it’s the truth? If it weren’t for our dad back then, it would’ve ended. Got it?”
Jin-young pointed furiously.
“Speak clearly! Who caused all that? If you hadn’t done that, we wouldn’t have lied, they wouldn’t have died, and…”
Chang-su stopped mid-sentence. Jin-young had crossed a red line.
“What did you just say? You bastard.”
Jin-young grabbed Chang-su’s collar, eyes full of menace.
“Hey! Hey, stop. Why now? And we agreed never to talk about that again. Seung-han, don’t just sit there, come and stop this.”
Hyun-bo tried to separate them, glaring at Seung-han.
“…”
But Seung-han drank silently, letting the tension linger.
The two finally sat on opposite sides, glaring at each other.
“Damn it.”
Chang-su drank whiskey straight from the bottle, face red.
“Alright, alright. Jin-young, calm down and drink. It’s all in the past. And we wouldn’t tell reporters about you.”
“Damn—”
Jin-young gulped down the glass Hyun-bo offered.
“Okay. Drink. For now, drink and forget everything. Later, we’ll settle it all. Now, drink.”
Hyun-bo awkwardly poured drinks, trying to change the mood. The three sipped, letting old stories sink deep into their memories—like closing Pandora’s box. They all knew it was best for them.
“Is it okay to be this loud? What if someone hears?”
Seung-han, who had been watching silently, spoke heavily. Silence fell over the room.
Everyone instinctively scanned the room, suspicion flickering between them. This was the raw reality of four friends.
“This is a VIP room. Once a month, I check for bugs, hidden cameras, and microphones. Nothing here.”
Chang-su waved confidently.
“Who says? What if one of us is recording?”
Seung-han, lying back on the sofa, spoke lazily, always observing and relaying unspoken thoughts. His words ignited suspicion like a fountain in the hearts of the others.
“Hey! Everyone, strip!”
At that, Jin-young broke the tense silence, shouting.
