( *Sajang - president or CEO of the company. )
The next morning Soo Min and Hyun Woo once again went out of the police station. The first stop was a modeling agency where they wanted to meet and talk with Seo In Sung. They had called in advance and the receptionist assured them that the boss would be present for sure.
- What do we know about him? ”Soo Min asked, her eyes focused on the road.- So, he is an owner of a modeling agency, working with the Choi family fashion house.- Hyun Woo started talking.- Perfectionist, sometimes to exaggeration, loves beauty and art. That is why his unstable emotional behavior is most often explained by the fact that he has the soul of an artist and wants every photo-shoot or fashion show to be a piece of art. People say that at first glance, you can see from his character that he is not behaving normally.- he continued.- In Sung usually cares about his models very much, but if they fail him in any waThen they both headed for the elevator and, exactly as the girl mentioned, got out on the top floor and turned into the corridor on the right. At the end of it, you could really see double glass doors flaring open, so Soo Min and Hyun Woo entered the office with no problem, introducing themselves once more and showing their badges to the secretary. She was a short, middle-aged woman dressed in an elegant suit, and her shapely figure was closer to Soo Min, which pleased her a bit. She thought only very skinny girls would be working here, so it was a pleasant surprise. Although, on the other hand, having such a secretary did not really suit the owner of a modeling agency, but this woman was undoubtedly beautiful, and Seo In Sung liked to surround himself not only with beautiful things, but also with people, so maybe her figure did not bother him at all? Or could it be that after spending days with skinny models, Seo In Sung wanted to look at a woman's curves at least in his office? An
( **Uisa - literally means the doctor, can be used towards any kind of doctors. )When Soo Min and Hyun Woo left the building of Seo In Sung's modeling agency, they headed straight for the parking lot.- I think it's him after all.- Hyun Woo finally spoke up.- Why? - Soo Min asked- As a detective, you should always be able to explain your suspicions .- she added in an instructive tone.- Seo In Sung might have had the right to write such messages to Ye Eun, but his behavior was quite... suspicious. He was nervous, and a bit unstable. At one point I had the feeling that he was about to attack us.- Hyun Woo explained as they stood by the car.- So far, out of all the people we've spoken to, Seo In Sung really does look like a psychopath.- he added, opening the passenger door.- Maybe you are right.- Soo Min admitted as she got into the car from the driver's side.- But if you want to be a good detective, you have to remember that not
( **Uisa - literally means the doctor, can be used towards any kind of doctors. )Soo Min and Hyun Woo by this time had already reached the door opposite the reception desk and there was indeed a sign with the words 'Kim Sang Min' on it. Soo Min knocked softly and when they heard a male voice saying "Please come in" she pressed the handle without hesitation. The office was large, but most of the area looked quite empty. There were plenty of bookshelves and cupboards, some locked. In the center, of course, was the desk and swivel chair that Kim Sang Min was occupying. Somewhere to the side was a small table with an electric kettle, a few mugs, a can with the word "Sugar" written in fancy font, a two packets of coffee - one instant, one regular coffee - and several types of tea. There was also a small refrigerator under the table. In the corner of the room, under the window, there was some tall green plant standing, also several cloth-covered wooden ch
( *Ahjussi - a word used to address middle aged men, over 30 years old. )Soo Min and Hyun Woo spent the rest of the day browsing the list of Choi Ye Eun's haters and psycho-fans, and it was quite a large group of people. CEO Choi was really serious, mentioning suing people who either wanted to destroy his daughter's image or were simply obsessed with her and violated Ye Eun's privacy. On the one hand, Choi Young Sik seemed to be a very cold, firm and a man who was not showing affection, but he certainly cared for children in his own way - for example, removing from their path any obstacles or persons who wanted to harm them. It was all the more impressive because, despite being a very busy man, CEO Choi always found time to meet with a lawyer or go to the court trial, if it was happening to punish someone who had threatened his family in any way.The list of haters and psycho-fans was long, but in fact most of them were kids who probably had no
In the late afternoon, Min Hye Sun from Cyber Security Division, Digital Forensic Section came to Soo Min and Hyun Woo's office with new information. Of course, she started to sweeten Hyun Woo, but when Soo Min got her attention, she immediately became serious.- So first of all, we've got the footage from camera monitoring the gate at Choi Hyun Sik's house from his security company. I've checked it thoroughly few times and the footage seems to be completely legit. It shows no one entered or left the house on Sunday.- Hye Sun informed at the begining.- Of course, I will conduct a few more tests to see if there were any modifications, but initially I did not notice any traces of interference with this footage.- she emphasized.- Another thing...- Hye Sun began rummaging through the paper folder she had brought with her and pulled out a few pages.- Here is a list of people who owned this car as seen on the CCTV recordings. After looking at the footage again and again, I'm sure it'
( *Ajumeoni - less formal Ajumma; a Korean word for a married, or middle-aged woman. )The very next morning, Soo Min and Hyun Woo went to three men who were psycho-fans of Choi Ye Eun. They started with Yeon Jong Pil, who was at the bottom of the suspect list. After a court case with CEO Choi, he and his mother moved from Seoul to Bucheon, so the ride again took a little bit over an hour. Being in the town they looked for high residential building located in the vicinity to primary school and it wasn't hard to find it. Entering the parking lot they passed the watchman's booth, of course, and explained the reason for their visit while showing him their badges and the older man let them go into the parking lot without hesitating. When they reached the free spot, Soo Min stopped the car and looked up while getting out. The block had 14 floors, but fortunately the apartment that Yeon Jong Pil and his mother were currently living in was on the 2nd floor.
To meet the next man, Nam Dong Sun, they had to return to Seoul, specifically Gangnam. He lived there with his parents in a tall apartment building. Today Dong Sun had classes at the university only in the late afternoon, so they had some time to talk. His parents were not present as they both worked in the same hospital and were on duty. When they got closer to the door of an elegant building and rang the intercom, Dong Sun let them in as soon as he heard who had come. Then Soo Min and Hyun Woo took the elevator to the 6th floor, went right down the corridor and stopped under one of the apartments, the door of which was already open and a tall, slender boy with rather broad shoulders was standing in it. Dong Sun had slightly longer hair dyed in cherry color, his eyes were black, and he was lightly tanned which made him look a little over 26 years old. Seeing Soo Min, the young man smiled charmingly and inspected her from head to toe.- Hello, detective Kim Soo Min I presume?-
Today's last stop was the house above the restaurant run by Kim Young Chul's parents. He was supposed to accept them in the apartment because his parents didn't want the restaurant guests to see detectives wandering around the place. That's why Soo Min parked the car at the back of the building, where the entrance to the apartment located on the 1st floor was. She and Hyun Woo got out and entered the building, taking the stairs to the 1st floor, straight to the apartment door. After one bell ringing one could immediately hear rushing footsteps and the clang of the lock, then the door opened and a definitely 30 years old man stood there, as slim as his predecessors, with the same broad shoulders, was only a few centimetres shorter, but within the supposed height of the kidnapper from CCTV recordings. He was wearing a green shirt and jeans that seemed a little bit too big for him, fastened with a black belt with a silver buckle with the Calvin Klein symbol. He had long black hair tied
On that day, exactly one month after they took up the "Cherry Blossom Reaper" case, Soo Min and Hyun Woo were just coming out of court after the final trial. Lee Joo Young was found guilty of course, but not entirely aware of his actions. Unfortunately, the final opinion of the forensic doctors clearly indicated his at least partial insanity, so instead of prison, he was locked up in a psychiatric hospital, but in a closed ward, and under the clear custody of the police. The court gave doctors a chance to undergo treatment, at the end of which Lee Joo Young will be examined again to see if the treatment will have any effect on him. If not, and Lee Joo Young continues to unrepent, he will be imprisoned with a life sentence.- A little bittersweet sentence, isn't it?- Hyun Woo asked as they descended the stairs and headed towards the parking lot.- Yes, very much.- Soo Min admitted, sighing heavily.- But that was the opinion of doctors. I don't really believe in Lee Joo Youn
At the beginning of the next week, a lot happened. Firstly, the court hearings of "Cherry Blossom Reaper" began, and with them a huge stir among the public. Although CEO Choi seemed to be completely cut off from his recent son and heir, the attorney firm representing the fashion house and the Choi family decided to represent Joo Young in court, specifically Jang Chang Woo himself as his lawyer. However, he did not try to prove his client's innocence, but to alleviate the punishment as much as possible, based on the preliminary opinion of the forensic psychologist that Lee Joo Young was not completely aware of what he was doing.At the same time, Kim Dong Min, the same one who stayed with Lee Joo Young in a foster family after the Gwangju orphanage burned down, came to the Seoul police station and turned himself in. He confessed of being guilty of helping the "Cherry Blossom Reaper", because Dong Min was a hacker with the nickname 'Void' and all the technical stuff - getting pla
Joo Young hated that thought, therefore, he did not want to see absolutely anyone. But that changed when Joo Young heard that Kim Dong Min wanted to visit him. He even asked for this himself so this man could be let in. His little Dong Min, whom he always wanted to protect from all evil. He knew seeing him would definitely make it all more bearable, however, he was afraid that this visit would make someone suspect that Dong Min had something to do with Joo Young's 'mission', so he had to ensure today that it was Dong Min's first and last visit. No matter how badly he wanted to see him again... Joo Young had to protect Dong Min, he was his hyung after all. Joo Young had decided so from day one, when he had defended his dongsaeng from one of those obnoxious guardians in that damn orphanage, and for that had been given a hard spanking himself in his place. Now it should end exactly the same way - Joo Young had to take the punishment for the two of them.- Dong Min-ah... - he spoke
While being in pre-trial detention, Joo Young had no desire to see anyone, especially Choi Young Sik and his wife, Madam Lee. So he was glad when they stopped trying to get a permission to visit him. He hated these people even though they made his life so good, or at least that's what all the people around him told him. While playing the role of Choi Hyun Sik, Joo Young had heard that he was extremely lucky to be born into such a family. But what these people did not know was that Joo Young was not born into this family at all. The burden of the secret that Choi Young Sik and his wife had thrown on him was a bit unbearable at times. The only thing Joo Young was really grateful for was that he met Ye Eun after entering this family's house. Normally, as an ordinary child, he would never had a chance to meet her. However, it was a bittersweet feeling as he was supposed to be Ye Eun's older brother, so could never show her his true feelings, which probably started to sprout slowly in hi
- Joo Young calmed down, but Ye Eun began to have nightmares and was afraid to approach her brother. She wanted to tell father about it.- Madam Lee replied after taking another sip of coffee.- I told her that she can't tell anyone about it, because it's just such a disease and her brother has already recovered from it. Ye Eun was such an innocent and extremely naive child, believed in everything I told her, so she believed in this too. Ye Eun stayed away from her brother for a while, but after a year she seemed to have completely forgotten about it and normally accosted him, encouraging to play with other children. As they both grew up, she even caught a great contact with him, he spoke to her more willingly than to anyone else. I was very happy about it and I forgot what Joo Young used to do. I was so proud of him, of his academic performance, and then the results of his work. He made such wonderful creations that I was very happy to give him the place of main designer in our fashi
When CEO Choi found out that his son had confessed to everything, he seemed completely devastated. It was evident that he truly believed in his innocence to the end. Madam Lee, on the other hand, seemed much less shocked and Soo Min did not understand it at first, because she thought this woman was the one who would be more devastated by the news.Soo Min went to their house on her own, without the Chief Kim's knowledge, to just tell them about their son, that a court hearing was about to take place and to find out if they would want to attend, because however little they knew about what Hyun Sik was doing, their testimony might help a bit. Besides, Soo Min also felt that although he was not their real son, they had raised him over the years and treated as their own child. No matter what their reasons were at the beginning, they surely loved him at least a little. The more she wanted to tell them what was happening with Hyun Sik, or rather Joo Young, because he himself did not
- I don't want to believe that you could have done it all yourself. I think someone helped you, at least with some of these things.- added Soo Min, looking at him closely.- Apparently I'm not just a genius at fashion design.- Joo Young replied, his face turning serious.- You think I couldn't do it all? Why? Do you doubt my intelligence?- he asked kind of reproachfully.- I'm saying I did everything myself. I know it may be hard to believe, but I learn really fast, much faster than others. If you ask at the schools I attended, they will confirm my words. I have always had the best academic record and heard many times people calling me a genius. But to me it was natural and I never understood what all these delights were for.- he explained.- Well, if you say so, I will not pursue this topic anymore.- Soo Min surrendered, seeing that even if her suspicions were right, and he was lying, she would not be able to get any information about a possible helper out of him.- We alrea
- What about the KIA car that belonged to your father? How did you get it?- Soo Min asked, curious about this part of the story.- As for this car, when I took it from the junkyard, I didn't necessarily think about the plan.- Joo Young confessed.- I just liked this car and I didn't want it to be destroyed. When I was a child, I asked if my father would give me this car when I get older, but he said no, he would like to buy me a car more worthy of an heir to a huge fortune. Then CEO Choi added that I should not think about such old junk.- and as he said it, one could see the disappointment on his face.- It seems funny now, but as a child, I felt very hurt. So later, when I found out that my father had instructed Secretary Lee to take the car to the junkyard and see it destroyed, I had to do something. Since I knew how much Secretary Lee wanted to be friends with me, I called him and asked to run an errand that I was supposed to handle myself. Later I called the junkyard and aske
Soo Min entered the interrogation room and sat down at the table in front of a man who until recently was called Choi Hyun Sik.- Lee Joo Young-ssi...- Soo Min called him by his real name, though she had a hard time getting used to the fact that this was his name.- At the last interrogation you told us about your childhood again, but now I'd like to hear the full story of how you carried out your mission.- she said, quite cautiously to encourage him to speak. Soo Min could see clearly that he was angry with her for approaching him like that while they were talking in the basement of his house. He felt clearly deceived and spoke to her very reluctantly, but she still wanted to get the whole truth out of him. Joo Chan offered to help, assuring Joo Young would sing everything nicely after one interrogation with him, but Soo Min preferred to personally interrogate the "Cherry Blossom Reaper".- I already told you everything, Soo Min. Don't you remember?- he spoke to her comple