I’m Obsessed With the Suspect - Chapter 42

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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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42

 

“Ugh, it’s cold!”

 

The morning wind of Ganghwa-do was biting.

 

Cheong-a quickly closed the window she had opened out of frustration. The wind was so cold that she couldn’t even feel the distinctive salty scent of the sea breeze.

 

She grumbled about the car not having heated steering and pressed the accelerator.

 

Finding Rachel’s Villa wasn’t too difficult.

 

She just had to retrace the path she had taken in Wujin’s car in reverse.

 

‘I turned left, so now right. And the convenience store sign on the opposite side. Okay… After passing here, turn right at the three-way intersection.’

 

After leaving the coastal road and climbing the hill, Rachel’s Villa came into view in the distance.

 

As she slowly drove down the entrance road, the rolling door leading to the interior of the house slowly opened.

 

‘They’re just opening the door knowing who it is?’

 

Cheong-a surveyed her surroundings as she slowly drove the car into the villa. Following the path to reach the parking area, she spotted Rachel.

 

A somewhat different appearance than usual.

 

Rachel, wrapped in a thick blanket with her disheveled hair roughly swept back, had a rather gaunt face.

 

What on earth was she thinking when she called me here.

 

After finishing parking and opening the car door, Rachel, who had rushed over, suddenly embraced Cheong-a.

 

“…?”

 

“I knew you’d come, Bokseon.”

 

Rachel’s voice was trembling. Whether it was because of the cold weather or some other reason.

 

“No, Detective Kim Chung-a.”

 

Cheong-a’s gaze slowly turned toward Rachel.

 

“…How long have you known?”

 

Reddened eyes, slightly elevated body temperature. She seemed to have been crying.

 

“From the beginning.”

 

Ha, Cheong-a sighed lightly and laughed as if incredulous,

 

“Ah, this is ridiculous. I was completely fooled.”

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

Rachel hung her head low.

 

***

 

The place Rachel led Cheong-a to was the second floor of the villa.

 

Cheong-a’s gaze wandered endlessly around the interior of the room.

 

It was quite different from Rachel’s bright and sparkling taste. A heavy, achromatic, and very simple feeling.

 

Most of all, it smelled like Rachel’s bright floral scent mixed with heavy cologne.

 

‘This must have been a man’s room…’

 

Rachel sat down at the edge of the bed with unsteady steps.

 

What confirmed Cheong-a’s suspicion were the two pillows placed on the bed. Underneath them lay very soft-looking blankets in complete disarray. As if telling her that the owner of the blankets hadn’t had proper sleep for quite some time.

 

Cheong-a settled into the chair across from Rachel at the table.

 

“Please tell me. Anything is fine.”

 

“…I don’t know where to start.”

 

Cheong-a, who had briefly held her forehead, swept her hair back long and opened her mouth.

 

“Should I speak first?”

 

“…”

 

“I believe what you said, boss. About the Cheongwha Faction Boss being your lover. Your lover has been missing for quite some time, right?”

 

Rachel groped with her right hand without answering and firmly grasped the upper arm of her opposite arm. Her already delicate shoulders looked even smaller.

 

“That’s all I know. The police don’t have much information either.”

 

The Cheongwha Faction Boss was a veiled existence. Even within the police, there was almost no information about him.

 

No face, no age, not even a name.

 

The only information was that a few years ago, a new boss who had taken control of the Cheongwha Faction had appeared.

 

“If you tell me anything, I’ll do my best to help.”

 

Rachel remained silent for a long time. Due to the force in her hand gripping her arm, only the blue veins stood out against her pale white skin.

 

“I called him Cheon-u.”

 

“Cheon-u?”

 

“That person’s name.”

 

“…”

 

“He’s thirty-three years old.”

 

Cheong-a rummaged through all the memories in her head, trying to find any merchant or drug dealer that matched Rachel’s words.

 

However, there was no one who came close to that information.

 

“His Korean was a bit clumsy. He was better at English and Chinese.”

 

“…!”

 

Ah, only then could Cheong-a come to the realization that the Cheongwha Faction Boss wasn’t Korean.

 

‘No wonder. I searched like looking for a grain of sand but couldn’t find his identity, tsk.’

 

Before she knew it, Rachel’s eyes were filled with tears.

 

“He promised he’d come back…? But it’s already been a year.”

 

“…”

 

“At first, he contacted me occasionally to say he was alive. Asking me to wait just a little longer. That he’d be back soon. But… the last contact was already several months ago.”

 

The story that began with sobbing eventually ended in tears.

 

Cheong-a got up from her seat and approached Rachel, gently patting her shoulder.

 

What caught her eye then was a picture frame placed on the table. Inside the expensive-looking frame facing toward the bed was a photo of Rachel and a man.

 

‘…So this is him.’

 

He was a man with such handsome features that he wouldn’t be overshadowed even standing next to the radiantly beautiful Rachel.

 

Suddenly, Cheong-a thought of Min Yoo-shin and Min Woo-jin.

 

It was a bit random, but they were the most handsome men in Cheong-a’s memory.

 

‘He’s a bit better than Min Yoo-shin, but not quite up to Min Woo-jin…’

 

Cheong-a quickly shook her head to dismiss the useless thought and focused on the montage of the man in the frame.

 

An innocent smile that contrasted with his strong bone structure. And his gaze that held only Rachel in his eyes, not the camera, with happy-looking lips.

 

“This is him, right?”

 

At the belated question, Rachel silently nodded.

 

“When and where did you last see him?”

 

Rachel wiped her tears with her sleeve and answered in a very small voice.

 

“13 months ago. Here at the villa.”

 

“…”

 

“He said he had something important to handle.”

 

Rachel took out her phone with trembling hands and showed it to Cheong-a.

 

“What is this?”

 

Cheong-a practically snatched the phone Rachel handed her.

 

On the screen was a message received from a number filled with only zeros.

 

「010-XXXX-XXXX : Listen to me, Rachel」

 

「010-XXXX-XXXX : Get the merchant list and platform system organized by the 13th. Gwangseop’s kid is wearing himself out, really.」

 

「010-XXXX-XXXX : That Cheon-u guy abandoned you, you know? Your oppa will never abandon you. Even now I can’t sleep when I think of you」

 

「010-XXXX-XXXX : Let’s get hot and heavy again, okay?」

 

Cheong-a read it over and over again for a long time. With each message she read down, her expression crumpled mercilessly.

 

“Who sent this?”

 

As Cheong-a’s voice rose,

 

“Police.”

 

Rachel’s gaze fell.

 

“Cheon-u tried to deal with this person. The result is as you can see…”

 

Cheong-a looked down at the messages once more.

 

The last message was received two days ago.

 

It was the date when Rachel had informed Se-yeon that she wouldn’t come to work at the restaurant.

 

“Wait. Gwangseop?”

 

Cheong-a poked at the name in the message with her finger.

 

“Is this by any chance Jeong Gwangsub from the Cheongwha Faction?”

 

“That’s right.”

 

“Why would the police….”

 

Tell Jeong Gwangsub to hand over the merchant ship list and platform system?

 

What followed was Rachel’s short sneer.

 

“Because there’s a police insider who’s in cahoots with Jeong Gwangsub.”

 

“What?”

 

In an instant, she felt a shock as if she’d been struck hard on the head.

 

Cheong-a had to repeat the same “What?” several times over.

 

“Please help me, please help me.”

 

Rachel moved her body to kneel on the floor and grabbed onto Cheong-a’s clothes.

 

“I’ll tell you everything I know. So please help me. Please save me….”

 

Rachel’s tears fell drop by drop, wetting the tips of Cheong-a’s feet.

 

“Are you asking me to cover up your boss’s crimes right now?”

 

At Cheong-a’s cold voice, Rachel shook her head violently.

 

“No, no! That’s not it! I know too. That I did wrong! I know I can’t be forgiven.”

 

“….”

 

“I, I really don’t want to get involved with Manager Oh. I’ll just be used again. Please just… send me to prison.”

 

Rachel’s face, slowly lifted up, was a mess with tears.

 

“If you could just find our Cheon-u and let me meet him once before that… I’ll never forget this kindness for the rest of my life.”

 

Manager Oh’s message saying he would cherish her. Rachel was crumbling at those words.

 

It wasn’t difficult to imagine what that man had done to Rachel.

 

“Haah….”

 

Cheong-a raised her head to look at the ceiling.

 

Below her head, she could hear Rachel’s sobbing.

 

Her clothes stretched taut, pulled down as far as they would go.

 

Cheong-a felt bitter, as if the weight pulling her down was Rachel’s desperation itself.

 

‘Haah, I’m craving soju.’

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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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