♡ TL: Khadija SK
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“Aylesford…?”
“Please call me Ian.”
At his friendly demeanor, Jin-ah stepped back. It hadn’t even been a full day since the incident at the hotel. Seeing him again brought back the memories of dawn, and her body began to tremble.
Her mind told her that it was all over and everything was fine, but her body still remembered the helpless terror of that moment.
“Did you come to see William Evans?”
Jin-ah shrugged in response to his question.
“The police asked me for a witness statement.”
“There’s no police here, though.”
“That can’t be. Inspector Haywood said he’d wait outside…”
Startled, Jin-ah tried to hurry past him to go downstairs, but Ian took a step to the side and blocked her path.
“…?”
Jin-ah looked up at him. Judging by the situation, he seemed to have come to visit William, so she couldn’t understand why he was blocking her way. Then she remembered how he had helped her last night and slightly lowered her head.
“Now that I think about it, thank you for helping me.”
“For what?”
“Uh… for kicking that lunatic, Jeremy or whatever, at the hotel.”
“Oh.”
At Jin-ah’s words, Ian wore an expression as if he had just remembered something that had completely slipped his mind. She found it odd how he seemed to have forgotten the incident until she mentioned it.
If he wasn’t here to accept her thanks, then there was no reason for him to be standing in her way.
“What did you talk about with William?”
“….”
As if the hotel incident no longer mattered, he asked another question.
‘Does he not want to talk about being at the hotel?’
If that was the case, his behavior now made sense. After all, there was nothing to gain by admitting he was at a party full of drugs and illegal activities.
For the same reason, even though Inspector Haywood knew about it, Jin-ah hadn’t said anything about what she had seen. It was partly because of the promise she had made to the general manager, but it was clear that revealing the truth would only draw suspicious glances toward herself.
“We didn’t talk about anything special. The police just needed me to give a statement…”
When Jin-ah tried to change the subject, Ian’s lips twisted into a smile.
“Lies.”
His voice had lost its patience.
“What did he say?”
At that moment, her lips moved on their own. Before she could even think, her tongue began to speak, led by an unknown force.
|Say nothing.|
From deep within, a desperate voice called out to her. It was a voice she knew—one she hadn’t heard in a very long time. One thing was certain: it was a voice she could trust completely.
‘Don’t say anything. Say nothing at all.’
Jin-ah muttered to herself in her mind, as if brainwashing herself.
Her open lips closed, and as if that wasn’t enough, her teeth bit into her lips. Her stubborn determination to keep them shut was clear.
“Jin-ah Troll.”
The moment Ian called her name, her body was pulled forward, and the world tilted. It felt as if someone had grabbed her and was shaking her violently.
It was a quiet hospital corridor, yet everything around her was chaotically spinning. At the same time, her vision darkened.
Just moments ago, the winter’s dry sunlight had streamed in through the window, but now it was suddenly night. Time and space twisted in her mind.
“You need to answer.”
Amidst the chaos, only Ian’s voice could be heard—a commanding order she had no choice but to obey.
His voice took on a form and grabbed her, shaking her. In that turmoil, Jin-ah gripped her bag tightly and steadied her legs to keep from falling.
Seeing her struggle desperately, Ian reached out a hand. The moment his hand neared her neck, Jin-ah instinctively swung her bag at his hand.
“……!”
For the first time, Ian looked surprised as he stepped back. At the same time, the dizziness vanished instantly. The corridor, which had seemed to ripple, was perfectly still, and the outside world seen through the window was as normal as before.
Relieved that nothing had changed, Jin-ah felt confused, wondering if she had just been dreaming.
Cold sweat ran down her back. At some point, her body had become drenched, as if she’d run a marathon. As she gasped for breath, Ian asked again.
“That bag. What’s in it?”
Unlike when he had asked about her conversation with William earlier, there was no force in his voice this time. So Jin-ah answered.
“Nothing much…? My wallet?”
She had always carried very little with her. Since she’d left her laptop at home, her bag only held her wallet, which contained a transit card and her driver’s license, as well as miscellaneous items like lip balm and hand cream.
But Ian treated her bag as though it were a hammer wrapped in flames, nursing his hand where it had struck him and looking reluctant.
“Anyway, I’m going now. Whether you accept it or not, I’ll say thanks for your help!”
Jin-ah dramatically tucked her bag under her arm and walked past Ian. He didn’t stop her—he merely watched her with an amused expression.
* * *
Contrary to what she’d been told, there was no one waiting at the administrative counter in the middle of the corridor. In fact, the entire floor was quiet, as if William was the only patient there.
Eventually, Jin-ah went down to the first floor alone. Thankfully, the nurse who had guided her earlier was standing there.
“There you are. Your visit with William Evans is over?”
“Huh? Oh… Yes.”
The nurse replied slowly and then tilted her head.
“But why did I come down here…? Anyway, thanks for letting me know.”
Just then, another nurse walking from the opposite direction saw Jin-ah and quickly approached.
“Inspector Haywood had an emergency and had to leave early. He asked me to apologize to you.”
“Really?”
She recalled his exhausted face, drinking coffee like it was water. At the very least, it was clear that he was a busy man.
When she checked her phone, there was already a text from him. As the nurse said, he’d been urgently called back to the station, apologized for leaving, and promised to pay her back for the coffee the next time they met.
Jin-ah slipped her phone back into her pocket and hunched her shoulders as she headed to the bus stop. Then she suddenly remembered William’s desperate plea and turned her head.
“It must be that room.”
When she had been there, the outside had been clearly visible, but now the blinds had been drawn. Staring at the window that no longer showed anything inside, Jin-ah turned away and walked toward the bus stop.
She truly wanted to return to the world of reason and normalcy.
***
Andy peered into the office through the window. With Christmas just around the corner, even Scotland Yard seemed quieter than usual.
Slipping in through the door quietly, he tried to make his way to his desk as inconspicuously as possible. Just as he sank into his chair, leaning back to hide himself from view—
“Andy.”
Hearing the woman’s voice behind him, Andy winced, caught red-handed, and turned his head slowly. Standing there, arms crossed, was a mature woman.
“Chief Inspector Howard.”
Susan Howard. Andy’s immediate superior and a perpetual source of nagging. Yet, she was also someone Andy deeply respected.
The only reason he was still employed—despite sticking his nose into every corner and stirring up trouble—was because Chief Inspector Howard tirelessly defended him against pressure from above.
“Where have you been?”
“Well, you know that Scotland incident. The one where the mansion floor collapsed, and the young master of the Aylesford family got hurt. I got assigned to that…”
“Inspector Haywood.”
Her usual familiarity vanished, replaced by a stern, professional tone that made Andy drop his gaze. At his age, he never thought anything could scare him more than the dentist—but here he was.
“Do you think that’s what I’m asking about?”
“Then… what…?”
“Don’t play dumb. Do you really think I don’t know who your informants are and where they’ve been pulled from?”
Busted.
His lips went dry, and he swallowed nervously.
“Well, you see… there was an unusually big drug deal happening. You know how last year started with all those bodies piling up. And this party, it’s gotten even bigger. So I thought this time we’d catch them properly…”
“Andy.”
Her tone softened as she reverted to his first name. Despite the sharp edge in her voice, there was also a hint of gentleness.
“You know I’m saying this for your own good. Because of Carrington’s son getting covered in blood this morning, we’ve been getting calls left and right, and it’s been a mess. They were shouting at us to bring the culprit in, but when they found out it was an Aylesford, they quieted down. Anyway, Carrington’s side is on high alert right now. So don’t provoke them when they’re in this state.”
“Is there ever a day when they’re not on edge?”
“…Andy.”
“I know. I know you’re worried about me. How could I not understand? That’s why you’ve come back to London instead of staying in Winchester with your family.”
The inspector had gone home two days ago, so if she was back in London now, it meant she had heard the news early this morning and had come straight back. She had likely worked to prevent Andy’s name from reaching Carrington’s ears.”
“Promise me. Share all the information with me, and don’t act on your own without my permission.”
“What if I can’t promise that?”
“Disciplinary action.”
“Isn’t handing out disciplinary actions like that an abuse of power?”
At Andy’s words, Chief Inspector Howard crossed her arms again.
“Any complaint involving you is grounds for discipline. Do you understand? Especially the way you sign off on documents without any regard. That’s the biggest issue.”
“…”
Andy closed his mouth. There were indeed many things he had done wrong.
“Anyway, now that I’ve spoken with you, I’ll be heading back.”
“…Sorry for bothering you.”
“If you know, then be careful.”
Despite grumbling, the inspector patted Andy’s shoulder kindly before leaving the office with a Christmas greeting.
In the now quiet office, Andy leaned back in his chair.
He had been working nonstop for the past few days, and his head felt foggy. He tilted his chair back so far it seemed like it might touch the floor, then pulled out his phone.
“No reply from Jin-ah Troll…”
It was as expected. The look in her eyes when she had stared at him as if he were crazy was still vivid in his mind.
“But there’s something about Ian Aylesford. There seems to be some connection.”
As soon as Andy mentioned Ian’s name, Jin-ah’s face instantly changed. The expression was so complicated that Andy couldn’t pinpoint exactly what the emotion was, but it didn’t seem like she viewed Ian purely with disgust. She seemed a little scared, though.
Just then, his other phone, the one he used to communicate with his informants, rang.
“Got it. They’ve all been pulled out? And the Chief Inspector knew about it. So, where exactly was the trail discovered? Let’s be more careful next time. Yeah, yeah… what?”
Andy sat up abruptly.
“A woman went missing?”
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