Chapter 16 – That Face, Those Eyes (4)
She drained her 500 mL beer can.
After getting another can and taking a sip, she remembered something.
Right. She had a message from her brother yesterday. It may be obvious but…
Jiyeon called her brother Ji-uk on her phone.
A voice she had never expected spoke through the line.
"The phone is currently off, so please…"
What? Her brother's phone was off?
This never happened before.
She tried to call again, but it gave the same response.
What the hell…she didn't know why it bothered her so much!
She couldn't break her relationship with her brother though.
"A drink for my poor brother, another drink for me."
She took another sip of her beer, then looked at the can in thought.
"Thanks to the hard life."
*
"Good morning!"
Jiyeon greeted as she arrived at the special investigation headquarters on the fourth floor of the Central District Prosecutors' Office.
She came to work earlier than usual, but Prosecutor Ganghun and Detective Nam were already there.
Jiyeon set her bag next to her computer when Detective So Yudo came in.
Ganghun smiled at the sight.
"This will be a good team."
"Why?"
"An organization that works based on a higher order is said to be a healthy organization."
Jiyeon thought that it was somehow being directed at her, so she bowed her head in apology.
"Sorry. I will arrive here earlier."
"No, I am being sincere. Anyways, our work ends late so you don't need to come early. Just come around this time."
Ganghun smiled at her like Jung Woo-sung.
Elite prosecutors were usually more authoritative, but Ganghun's leisurely demeanor was quite attractive.
Why didn't a man who was so capable, handsome, and humorous have no girlfriend?
Jiyeon was curious.
"Now, shall we have a quick meeting?"
The team gathered around a table in one of the conference rooms.
First, Detective So Yudo shared new information that came in overnight.
"Chairman Seo Geon-u has four known villas around the country. There may be more, but this is what the police have found out so far. Anyway, the villas are shared with the family and other company affiliates, but the Incheon villa, where Chairman Seo died, was secret."
"Secret?"
"No one else knew about it, and only Chairman Seo would go there.”
According to the interview reports by Gangnam Police station, the employees at the villa left at night and went back to work in the morning.
"That means no one knew what was going on there at night?"
Detective So answered Ganghun's question.
"Yes. It's the same deal at the Nonhyeon-dong residence, where Vice Chairman Minhyeok was murdered. Housekeepers could only come in during the hours he allowed, and left right after work."
"Did he learn from his father…"
Ganghun muttered.
"We also identified the motorcycle model from the surveillance camera."
Detective Nam displayed a picture of a motorcycle on the conference room screen.
"It's a high-end motorcycle made by BMW two years ago. Performance is excellent for its moderate value. There were two hundred units sold in South Korea, so we need to track the buyers."
A hail of questions shot through Jiyeon's mind at that moment.
She recalled a line from the article she read last night.
“Seo Minho has little interest in the business and not much is known about his personal life. According to him he is an all-around sportsman and enjoys racing cars…"
A man who loves speed and car racing…
She immediately took out her phone to look something up.
The search term: "President Seo Minho's motorcycle."
After she hit the search button, a link caught her eye.
It was a feature article from a car magazine.
"The garage of car collector (3) – President Seo Minho of Eunseong Food."
Minho was the third person on the special feature covering car enthusiasts.
There were several interviews and photographs.
Among them were pictures of Seo Minho's garage in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province.
Jiyeon scrolled down the page then stopped.
Seo Minho not only loves cars but is an enthusiastic collector of bikes."
On side of his garage was a collection of motorcycles.
One of them…
Was the same motorcycle that was on the conference room screen. At least in Jiyeon's view.
Goosebumps erupted on her body.
She took a deep breath to prevent her voice from shaking then asked,
"Is this the same model?"
She raised her phone to show the picture to the detective.
Detective Nam nodded.
"Oh, that's right! Where did the picture come from?"
Jiyeon didn't say anything immediately.
She should explain it to them that it was a photo of President Seo Minho's garage…
At that moment, there was no choice but to be suspicious of Seo Minho.
Minho's face was painted in the air.
His eyes were full of grief and misery.
Ah…really…is it you?