HB Chapter 27

Chapter 27

 

The warm sensation seeping into her skin felt both unfamiliar and cozy. Different from the comfort of a blanket. Jae-in shifted her body, pulling the warmth closer.

As she was about to drift back to sleep, lulled by this coziness, something poked her cheek. Poke. Poke. Annoyed by whatever it was, she waved her hand. Then her earlobe was tugged. Haa. She turned over, and chuckling laughter vibrated the bed.

As if someone was close to Jae-in. She opened her eyes wide and whipped her head around.

“Ah…”

Her eyes widened as she saw Seo Muyoung, leaning against the headboard with his bare upper body in her blurry vision.

Right. Yesterday. I let Seo Muyoung-ssi stay at my place.

She remembered coming home, washing up quickly, and lying down on the bed, but after that, her memory was cut off.

“Are you awake? I was watching you a bit since you were sleeping so soundly.”

“I knew I was tired, but I didn’t know I’d pass out. Sex is definitely effective for a good night’s sleep.”

“I guess you were serious about doing it in the morning. Bringing up sex right off the bat.”

Her body felt refreshed, making the long nights of tossing and turning seem unfamiliar. She had been worried since it was her first time sleeping with someone.

“If we’re going to do it, I’ll just go brush my teeth.”

Jae-in got up from the bed. She had said it herself, so she had to follow through. Then Muyoung grabbed her wrist and laid her back down on the bed.

“I appreciate the thought, but I’ll put it on your tab. We should keep a tab to look forward to next time.”

The interest should be compound interest.

“It’s been a while since I’ve felt this languid mood, so it’s too early to get frisky in the morning.”

He covered Jae-in, who was lying next to him, with the blanket that had slipped down her body and patted her lightly.

He really was a man whose words and actions were quite different. His way of speaking was rough as a street thug.

“From now on, do these things with me. Only with me.”

He whispered affectionate words, filling her heart with warmth. Thinking that the gap between his words and actions was quite charming, Jae-in closed her drowsy eyes.

When Jae-in woke up again about an hour later, Muyoung wasn’t in bed. Thinking he might have left, she opened the bedroom door and came out to the living room, but he wasn’t there either.

He really was a man who came and went as he pleased. Jae-in shook her head slightly in disappointment and walked to the kitchen to find a cup.

On her way back to the living room after getting water from the purifier, she was startled to find Muyoung on the balcony, his broad back twitching as he breathed in the cold air.

Oh my… Is he crazy? Who would stand out in this cold with no shirt on, just in pants….?

Jae-in, who wore a cardigan even with the heater on, couldn’t understand his behavior.

The breath coming from between Muyoung’s teeth as he talked on the phone was as hazy as cigarette smoke. But his expression looked quite serious. His face was colder than the below-freezing weather. The peacefulness she had seen on the bed had disappeared like a mirage.

Jae-in’s mood sank along with his. Just then, Muyoung finished his call and opened the balcony door to enter the living room.

“You’re up?”

“Yes. But is something wrong?”

A faint smell of cigarettes clung to him as he came in with the chilly wind.

“Can I turn on the TV?”

“Just a moment.”

Jae-in found the remote in the living room side table drawer and handed it to Muyoung. He turned on the TV and tuned to a channel.

It was a cable news channel displaying a headline that read “Exclusive.”

-“Actor Yoon Jun-young, who was found dead at his home in Cheongdam-dong early this morning, was reportedly under investigation by the prosecution for alleged illegal drug use. According to his lawyer, he had been complaining of extreme stress due to the prosecution’s aggressive attitude and investigation methods during the summons for questioning.”

A suspect in an ongoing investigation had committed suicide.

A low curse escaped Muyoung’s lips as he watched the news. His sharply raised eyes flickered dangerously, as if they could pierce through the TV and strangle the news anchor reading the report.

-“Some are saying this might be a case of targeted investigation by the prosecution, questioning whether the indictment was excessive. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office has not yet released an official statement regarding this matter.”

He had a hunch about who might have planned this incident. He had just been keeping quiet due to lack of concrete evidence.

“I didn’t expect to be screwed over twice in a row…”

If he let his guard down even slightly, he might really end up with a knife in his gut. Muyoung’s head cooled off rapidly.

Jae-in, who was standing next to him watching the news together, wondered who Yoon Jun-young was before letting out a small sigh.

“Wasn’t this the case Seo Muyoung-ssi was investigating?”

“That’s right.”

“…Are you okay?”

“No.”

He exhaled a rough sigh towards the floor before lifting his face, running his hand through his hair. With a deeply twisted sneer. It was such a fierce smile that his anger, which had risen to the top of his head, was almost visibly palpable.

“Jeong Jae-in-ssi. What should I do now?  It looks like I’m completely screwed.”

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3 AM. Discovered by the manager who visited the home when unable to make contact. 119 emergency calls were received. Police dispatched. Transferred to the hospital where final death was confirmed.

Upon arriving at the prosecutor’s office, Detective Jo, who had been waiting for Muyoung, quickly explained the situation.

“So it’s suicide?”

Muyoung furrowed his brow and confirmed the conclusion first.

“The doctor who examined Yoon Junyoung’s body judged it as such. Given the circumstances, suicide seems certain.”

“Can you really hang yourself from a bathtub faucet?”

“Large amounts of sleeping pills and anti-anxiety medication were found in the bathroom.”

“I guess a drug addict would have a whole pharmacy.”

“And the family has refused an autopsy.”

Section Chief Cho, like the veteran investigator he was, pinpointed the key aspects of the situation.

Yoon Jun-young, the suspect in the rape and manslaughter case, had committed suicide. It was difficult to know how to process this information.

Muyoung slowly scratched between his deeply furrowed brows and bit his lower lip.

Did he choose suicide due to the pressure of the prosecution’s investigation?

It was certainly possible.

If he were convicted of rape and manslaughter, not only would his life as an actor be ruined, but the estimated penalties for breach of contract were already in the hundreds of millions of won.

Moreover, he would have known better than anyone how the downfall of a popular star would be prime fodder for the hyenas who dig into people’s private lives for profit.

If he chose death due to the burden of the current situation, it wasn’t entirely implausible. But not this ‘suddenly’. Nothing had been properly revealed yet.

“Prosecutor Seo. I think you need to watch the news right now.”

“What else is there?”

“They’ve found Yoon Jun-young’s suicide note…”

Inspector Eom Hae-young who delivered the news, looked very grim and cautious.

“Why? Is my name mentioned in the suicide note?”

Instead of answering, Eom Hae-young turned on the TV. The wall-mounted TV showed footage of the late Yoon Jun-young in life, along with parts of the suicide note’s contents.

It was the cable channel that had exclusively reported Yoon Jun-young’s death this morning.

“Not content with announcing the suicide immediately, they’re now revealing the note?”

And this less than a day after his death.

[I’m sorry to the deceased Park ○○. But I feel wronged. I resent Prosecutor Seo ○○ who treated me like a criminal based on suspicion alone, without any evidence. I’m afraid that I, powerless, will become the culprit according to the prosecution’s meticulously planned script. I have no will or hope to live on. I don’t want to cause harm to others because of this. If sacrificing myself alone ends this matter, I’m satisfied with that.]

Muyoung, who had been reading the white subtitles with his eyes, let out a scornful laugh.

“This is unbelievable, damn it.”

He wasn’t even surprised that his name was written in Yoon Jun-young’s suicide note. It was just amusing. If anything, it felt like finding a piece of a puzzle that had been scattered and formless.

“Doesn’t that suicide note seem a bit strange?”

Muyoung asked the two others.

“What do you mean?”

“He says he feels wronged. He’s afraid. He resents the prosecution for pushing him to this point. And then after all that, he talks about sacrifice.”

For someone claiming innocence and trying to prove their innocence through death, the conclusion seemed too hollow.

If Yoon Jun-young had been the type of person to sacrifice himself for others, he wouldn’t have taken Park So-ra to such an orgy in the first place.

In fact, Seo Muyoung’s assessment of Yoon Jun-young was far from altruistic. Rather, he was terribly self-centered.

Would such a person leave a suicide note like this and die?

Even if he truly felt wronged, he wasn’t the type to die over it. Maybe if he had caused a scene threatening to jump from a building rooftop, but not this.

“Now that you mention it, you’re right. If he really felt wronged, shouldn’t he be pleading for the truth to be revealed? It’s strange that there’s nothing like that at all.”

Eom Hae-young caught on to Muyoung’s intention and spotted the oddity. As if to say ‘exactly that’, he snapped his fingers audibly and nodded towards Cho Kyung-soo.

“Section Chief Cho, you met Yoon Jun-young in person, didn’t you? You know he’s a spineless bastard who might betray others, but not the type to die like this.”

“Which means…”

The various strands of suspicion converged to point at one conclusion. That the person who killed Yoon Jun-young, or who instigated his killing, was the same madman who had gifted him the corpse.

“Yoon Jun-young didn’t commit suicide. We need to convince the family and conduct an autopsy first.”

Muyoung said in a coldly composed tone. His head, which had been burning and turbulent, became unexpectedly calm.

He instinctively sensed that this suicide note was also a warning directed at him.

Why go to such lengths? If that crazy bastard had something to say, he could have come directly.

“This case is getting more and more tangled.”

Unlike Muyoung, who was more clear-headed than ever, Section Chief Cho groaned, massaging the back of his neck with his thick hand.

At that moment, the internal phone rang. After answering, Inspector Eom put down the receiver and delivered some troubling news.

“Prosecutor, Deputy Chief Baek wants you in his office. Right now.”

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Thank you for reading! ♡