I’m Obsessed With the Suspect - Chapter 39

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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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39

 

Under the blue light of the shadowless lamp, it had only looked like blood vessels showing through.

 

But when he shone the examination light that resembled natural light, traces with exactly the same color as the lines he had seen on Rachel’s nape were confirmed.

 

It was definitely a drawing made with the same pigment.

 

The number of lines found around the wrist was the same as what he had discovered on Rachel’s nape.

 

The multiple lines remaining on the man’s wrist began to reconstruct themselves in Yushin’s mind in an instant.

 

“Ah, this!”

 

When he slowly raised his head, Doksah was already positioned in front of Yushin.

 

“What is it? Did you find something?”

 

“…Doksah.”

 

“What?”

 

“You said the Cheongwha Faction kids have tattoos. Tell me what kind they are.”

 

Doksah scratched the back of his head.

 

“Where did you hear that from? It’s classified information.”

 

“What classified? Even Meerkat knew about it.”

 

“Really…? That girl knows everything.”

 

Doksah, who had been lost in thought for a moment, opened his mouth.

 

“Flames.”

 

“Fire?”

 

“Yeah. Cheongwha uses the character ‘cheong’ meaning clear and ‘wha’ meaning fire. So they get tattoos related to fire.”

 

“…”

 

“In inconspicuous places, cleverly mixed with other tattoos. There wasn’t any idiot who would leave a mark so obviously on the wrist of someone you caught.”

 

“…”

 

“Did they get shot in the head? It’s not like they’re saying ‘I’m a drug dealer, please arrest me’ by putting something on their wrist.”

 

Yushin lifted the caught wrist and brought it to show Doksah, asking.

 

“Then doing a tattoo in such a… visible place would be intended to show it to others, right?”

 

“How would I know the psychology of people who get tattoos? I’ve never gotten one.”

 

“…”

 

Yushin brought the light to the corpse’s wrist. Then the remaining blue pigment at the end clearly entered Doksah’s vision.

 

“Oh, what’s this? It’s a tattoo mark?”

 

“I almost missed it. I think so.”

 

“Ah, that’s good information. I should narrow it down to guys with wrist tattoos and run an investigation.”

 

Yushin caught Doksah’s steps as he was about to hurriedly leave the autopsy room.

 

“But Doksah. I think I know what this tattoo is.”

 

“Well, thanks for that, but how do you know a tattoo that was on a hand that’s already gone? Are you a fortune teller? Or did you know this bastard originally?”

 

Yushin took off his gloves, threw them away, got up from his seat, and grabbed a marker pen. Then he drew on the whiteboard while muttering.

 

“There are some differences between people due to macrophage action. But looking at what kind of ink was used, the pattern spread in the dermis layer, the boundaries… there are things you can roughly figure out…”

 

“So what is it?”

 

“I know someone who got a tattoo on the same day at the same place as this person.”

 

“…?”

 

“Rachel.”

 

The whiteboard where the marker pen had left its mark.

 

There was a drawing of one person wrapping their large hand around another person’s nape.

 

The blue stem that started from that person’s wrist continued to the other person’s nape, forming the shape of a flower.

 

A groan-like sound flowed from Doksah’s mouth as he stared at the drawing for a long time.

 

“Cheongwha…?”

 

And both Yushin and Doksah’s gazes simultaneously turned toward the man lying on the stainless steel bed.

 

***

 

Cheong-a, who had been gripping her mouse and wiping it squeakily again today, soon let out a deep sigh.

 

Her body was tired.

 

She had been drinking until morning, slept for only about two hours, then energetically went all the way to headquarters.

 

But what was more complicated was inside her head.

 

−Sister. The Cheongwha Faction boss has gone missing.

 

No matter how she thought about it, this was a story that had to fit together perfectly.

 

Rachel was the Cheongwha Faction boss’s lover.

 

Then the help she was going to ask for was likely a request to find her missing lover.

 

No, then that means Rachel knew my identity from the beginning.

 

How on earth?

 

“Ugh…”

 

The continued worrying made her feel twisted inside.

 

Of course, it could have been because she drank too much alcohol.

 

Cheong-a moved to the seat next to her, grabbed the keyboard, shook it off, and glanced at Wujin sitting at the counter.

 

He also had a slightly different atmosphere than usual today.

 

Normally, he would have been leaning back in his chair in a relaxed posture, looking at his phone and giggling.

 

He was staring at the monitor for a long time with an unusually serious expression.

 

Of course, that could also simply be because he drank a lot and was tired.

 

Everything was probably bothering her because Cheong-a herself had no peace of mind, making her notice all these various things.

 

‘Ah, I want to rest…’

 

After finishing cleaning, Cheong-a returned to the counter with trudging steps.

 

“Bokseon.”

 

Wujin called Cheong-a like that, still keeping his gaze fixed on the monitor.

 

“Yes?”

 

“What serious talk did you have with the boss yesterday?”

 

“…”

 

“I mean, you were pouring down 51-proof soju like it was water.”

 

Cheong-a’s face instantly turned pale.

 

51 proof?

 

What kind of soju in the world is like that?

 

Is it okay to call something like that soju?

 

“No, uh. That… it said soju on the bottle?”

 

“Yeah. It is soju. It’s just expensive and strong.”

 

Even expensive?

 

For soju?

 

“Yesterday’s soju bill alone probably came to over a million won. Ah, that’s calculated based on wholesale liquor prices.”

 

For a moment, Cheong-a felt the back of her head getting stiff.

 

It also felt like the alcohol was coming back up.

 

Rachel, who hadn’t stopped her even when she was drinking that expensive alcohol like water.

 

Her request was definitely going to be no easy matter.

 

“Ma… Manager, are you o-okay?”

 

Then a chuckle crossed the corner of Yushin’s mouth.

 

“I can handle my liquor well originally.”

 

Of course, it was a lie.

 

Yushin had made full use of the techniques he learned at the company and worked without drinking a single glass of alcohol.

 

One-third of the alcohol bill Rachel calculated last night had evaporated without anyone knowing due to Yushin’s work.

 

Yushin’s gaze slowly turned toward Cheong-a.

 

“Bokseon. Next time, let’s just eat together, just us.”

 

“What?”

 

“If you have worries, you can confide in me. Don’t drink so much alcohol.”

 

“…”

 

“Go home a bit early today and rest. I’ll handle the rest.”

 

Cheong-a’s eyes sparkled at those words.

 

Ah, was this why slaves suffering from harsh labor bonded with each other like this?

 

At Wujin’s small consideration, Cheong-a felt tremendous gratitude and emotion.

 

‘When your body is tired, everything feels touching.’

 

Having suddenly gotten off work a bit early, Cheong-a rubbed her shoulders as she left the PC Bang.

 

On her phone, there was only one additional message from Inkyu.

 

「Park Inkyu: I’ll wait」

 

At that moment, Cheong-a’s footsteps came to an abrupt halt.

 

She had definitely received dozens of missed calls and over a hundred messages.

 

But Cheong-a had only sent one reply back.

 

A short message saying she was alive.

 

‘…This is bad.’

 

Her footsteps that started then began to gradually quicken.

 

Eventually, she was almost running as she headed toward the spot where Park Inkyu waited for her every day.

 

It was much earlier than when her PC Bang part-time job usually ended. But the familiar car was already there.

 

Cheong-a hurriedly opened the passenger door and got in the car.

 

“S-sorry.”

 

Her mouth that was offering an apology snapped shut.

 

The inside of the car was cold. And even colder than that was Park Inkyu’s face.

 

“Ah, it’s so cold…”

 

Cheong-a deliberately made idle chatter and quickly averted her gaze from Park Inkyu.

 

Park Inkyu still remained silent, looking straight ahead as he reached out to press the passenger seat’s heated seat button.

 

‘Ugh, he’s really angry.’

 

Cheong-a nervously fastened her seatbelt and opened her mouth.

 

“Um… Sorry. Yesterday I had a bit to drink…”

 

“…”

 

“…”

 

Only painful silence flowed between them.

 

Inkyu, whom she stole a glance at, had quite the expression on his face.

 

His rigid jawline. His tightly pressed lips. Completely different from how he always smiled warmly.

 

“Cheong-a.”

 

“Y-yes.”

 

“Where did you sleep last night.”

 

“…Huh?”

 

Park Inkyu bit his lip and spoke in an even lower voice.

 

“Don’t tell me you… Hah. Were you really alone with that gigolo bastard?”

 

Cheong-a’s face instantly turned pale as she grabbed Park Inkyu by the collar.

 

“Are you crazy, have you lost it. What are you saying. No, yesterday Rachel was…!”

 

The moment that name was uttered, Cheong-a had to stop talking and close her mouth.

 

The connection between Rachel and the Cheongwha Faction. And her request for help.

 

Would it be okay to tell Inkyu about this?

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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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