I’m Obsessed With the Suspect - Chapter 14

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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14

“I’m sorry about earlier. Ah, my stomach hurt so much and I felt like I was dying, so I was being sensitive. Haha.”

“Ah… Yes.”

The man apologized brazenly and acted friendly toward Cheong-a.

And while walking together toward the cafe, she could quickly figure out why this man seemed so familiar.

“Wow, nurse! Why has it been so long?”

“Hello, professor. I’ll come see you later!”

He greeted all the hospital staff they passed as if he knew everyone, without pause. Yet he never showed any neglect toward Cheong-a either.

It was truly no ordinary skill.

“What would you like to drink? Hehe. As an apology, I’ll buy. I can’t let such a pretty lady treat me. Order something expensive!”

After putting the most expensive coffee from the Hospital Cafe in her hands, questions naturally followed. Most were related to the man’s work.

Things like the preferences of the examination room staff or snacks they often ate, which she had confirmed while cleaning the trash from the Endoscopy Room.

Then he also casually asked whether she had ever seen lists of medications that professors mainly prescribed or prescription lists.

It was exactly the behavior of a pharmaceutical company sales representative.

However, suspicion still remained.

It was an uneasiness that was hard to pinpoint exactly.

“I need to go see a professor now, so I’ll get up first. Let’s meet again next time!”

“Yes. Go ahead.”

Cheong-a was only able to notice the basis for her suspicion at the moment she parted from the man.

Come to think of it, that man…

‘His footsteps don’t make any sound at all.’

A sales representative whose job required appealing to others wouldn’t walk with soundless steps.

Right. Thinking about it, that was it.

Even in the restroom, I definitely thought no one was there, but I was startled when I heard voices.

‘Suspicious guy.’

Actually, even if the sales representative had stolen the note and then returned it, it wouldn’t really be a problem.

The Morse code wasn’t particularly important content, and the real cipher was impossible to interpret without knowing the predetermined code.

‘The hospital is big. And suspicious people keep increasing… Sigh, this is troublesome.’

Cheong-a looked down blankly at the phone gripped tightly in her hand.

She wanted to inform Yeonhui about this, but it was impossible for now.

‘On top of that, I’m being wiretapped.’

Cheong-a let out a deep sigh and shoved her phone into her pocket. Then she trudged along to do her remaining work.

***

The place Cheong-a headed to without fail after finishing her daily routine was Yushin’s Research Lab.

The moment she listlessly pushed open the research lab door, her eyes met with Min Yoo-shin, who was looking at his monitor.

“Uh…?”

Cheong-a showed an awkward expression.

“You haven’t… left work yet. I came to clean.”

What came to mind was the content of the Morse code from the note Yeonhui had sent.

‘Min Yoo-shin. She said he’s definitely forty years old.’

Polite formal speech unconsciously followed.

The monitor light reflected in Yushin’s glasses quickly disappeared. He took off his glasses, placed them on the desk, and stood up from his seat.

“Do you always come to clean like this after work hours? I think we met at quite a late time a few days ago too.”

She wanted to give the most polite answer possible, but the words that came out of Cheong-a’s mouth didn’t have a filter properly attached.

“If I cleaned for you during work hours, I’d get fired. It’s outside work guidelines.”

Yushin’s expression crumpled completely.

“Then why did you meddle and volunteer to take care of all the other professors’ rooms too?”

It was a question she had fully expected.

To avoid receiving such aggressive questions, she should have kept her mouth tightly shut.

Cheong-a swallowed dry saliva once with a groan in her aching stomach.

“I’m the weak party. Since I’m the weak party, I have to do what I’m told and crawl when told to crawl. How can I do it for some people and not others? If the professors complain even once, I’ll lose my job.”

While speaking with pursed lips, Cheong-a squeezed her eyes shut.

Looking at Yushin’s room that had become a pigsty again today made her feel agitated inside.

“And other rooms don’t take long to clean…”

“…”

Both awkwardly avoided each other’s gaze.

“Professor. Don’t you feel sorry for me? Please don’t mess up your room. Do you actually read all these books? Why, why do you pile them all up like this?”

“…Every day. I do read them all.”

Yushin made a brief excuse.

At those words, Cheong-a pointed at the desk with trembling hands.

“Those papers too?”

“Well, for now. I have to study.”

For some reason, Yushin seemed a little embarrassed.

He smiled shyly and ran his hand through his hair once.

That unsuitable appearance made Cheong-a even more frustrated.

“No… Even so, couldn’t you put them away after reading them?”

At Cheong-a’s pleading appearance, Yushin’s gaze slowly turned. He slowly scanned the pain patches stuck all over Cheong-a’s neck and wrists as he spoke.

“I’ll try. Today… rest.”

“…”

“Come tomorrow. Still, a promise is a promise. It would be… nice if you could clean until it’s spotless.”

Yushin, who had slowly walked over, picked up a promotional item from the table in the center of the research lab. What he took out from the envelope with the Buwang Pharmaceutical sticker was a tonic.

The brown bottle that opened with a crack was thrust in front of Cheong-a.

A flustered voice popped out of Cheong-a at the unfamiliar kindness.

“Why?”

Yushin smiled broadly and grabbed Cheong-a’s hand, pressing even the vitamins from inside the envelope firmly into her grip.

“You seemed to like them.”

“Huh?”

“You had two of them while cleaning that day.”

Cheong-a’s face turned bright red.

−One or two wouldn’t even be noticed, right…?

She remembered having that careless thought while looking at the piles of tonics when she was searching Yushin’s room that day.

One because her stomach was burning so much.

And she had just eaten one more.

But there were definitely dozens piled up like a trash heap. How on earth did he notice?

Cheong-a’s eyes squeezed shut.

Yushin watched this and laughed “Ahahaha.”

“Ah… Haha. Ha. Haa… Thank you.”

“Ah, it’s fine. Drink up, drink up. You can have as much as you want. It’s not even my money, so what. I can give you this much anytime.”

Cheong-a poured vitamins into her mouth with a pale face and gulped down the tonic. She emptied the entire bottle, but it felt like the vitamin pills were stuck in her throat.

“Then I’ll be going nowwww.”

And the moment she backed out of the room, she started running at full speed.

This is driving me crazy, really…!

In her vision as she left the research lab remained the image of Yushin smiling with his eyes prettily crinkled.

It wasn’t easy to distinguish whether it was the vitamin stuck in her throat that felt stuffy, or her rapidly beating heart from running so hard that was uncomfortable.

“Ah… How embarrassing. No, did he go through the trash? How did he know that?”

Cheong-a pounded her chest and sighed several times.

“But why does he keep smiling like crazy, making my heart hurt. No wait. Why does my heart hurt? Forty. He’s forty years old? He’s an old man. No, that face is forty? Crazy. So suspicious.”

***

At the same time, in the research lab where Cheong-a had disappeared, Yushin’s hand quickly tapped his earpiece to call Chamkkae.

[Oh, Mes.]

“Channel 29. Connect me quickly.”

[Now? I’m busy.]

“I’m busier. I planted a bug on the meerkat.”

A loud laugh burst out from beyond the earpiece.

[Again? Hey, you’re really talented. You feed them so well, seriously. Did you force-feed it? Or did you seduce them with your face?]

“Don’t talk nonsense. I said it’s urgent.”

Then the sound of keyboard typing and grumbling came through together.

[Ah… It’s really busy here too. I’m in the middle of decrypting. Since you’re fooling around, I have to do the work.]

“…”

[I’m running a brute force right now but the key space is too wide. And also, the Morse code scheme itself doesn’t match. Did you see the cipher text too? I think we need to call in an expert.]

“Don’t worry about it. It’s nothing important.”

A brief silence followed Yushin’s indifferent response.

[Wait, Mes. Don’t tell me you decrypted it? Right! You interpreted it!]

Chamkkae began chattering frantically and demanding the interpretation.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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