"He was a lover,"
the detective murmured, echoing the same thoughts as Jiyeon.
The expression "Ojja" appeared constantly and seemed to be a version of "Oppa."
"We should look through the records more thoroughly, but I don't see Yu Minji as a likely suspect,"
said Prosecutor Kim, a prosecutor who newly joined the special investigation team.
"Yes, from what I've read…their relationship had never gone bad. They were on good terms even before he died,"
Detective Nam briefly summarized.
"Seems so. Even the last message is impressive."
At Detective Soyu's remarks Jiyeon turned to the final page of the record.
It was the last conversation between the two lovers, before Vice Chairman Seo Minhyeok died.
-My Ojja…I always miss you everyday…
-Me too baby
-I really miss your body
-It's still the same
-I want to have Ojja's body
-Are we not doing it enough?
-You don't know. You don't know how needy I am
-I'll fill you up soon
-Idiot…
-This idiot loves this baby.
-I love you too. My heart is so scared…
My heart is so scared…
That was the last conversation between the two.
A few hours later, Vice Chairman Seo Minhyeok would be murdered.
"Whooo…"
A sigh came out of Jiyeon.
"Inspector Cha."
"Yes, sir."
"Go meet Yu Minji right now."
"Me?"
Jiyeon was surprised because it would normally be the police detectives to look into this type of witness.
"You should be as vigilant and possible and find out about her relationship with Vice Chairman Seo Minhyeok. Wouldn't it be better if it was a woman who spoke to her?"
"Yes, I understand."
"The rest of us will continue the meeting."
Jiyeon stepped out of the conference room.
As she walked down the corridor she called the administrative office of Vice Chairman Seo Minhyeok.
When she verified her identity and said she wanted to speak to the head of staff, she was quickly redirected to them.
They exchanged greetings and Jiyeon immediately brought up Yu Minji.
"Yu Minji was the secretary to Vice Chairman Minhyeok, right?"
"Yes, she was."
"And the job right now?"
"Mine?"
"No, Miss Yu Minji."
"Ah. Miss Yu Minji resigned."
"I'm sorry? Resigned? When?"
"Her resignation was accepted two days ago."
"Ah…the reason must be…"
"It must have been a shock to see the person she had directly taken care of become like that."
In other words, the head of staff did not know about the special relationship between Seo Minhyeok and Yu Minji.
Jiyeon spoke carefully.
"I'm only just asking, but was there ever a relationship between Vice Chairman Seo Minhyuk and Miss Yu Minji? They were both young after all…"
The chief of staff laughed out loud.
"Prosecutor. You don't know our vice chairman. He's the second generation of the conglomerate group and yet he's never turned his eyes to even the most beautiful of celebrities. The only thing he ever thought about was work. He's not like–"
They seemed to have realized that they said too much and quickly shut their mouth.
It seemed that they were about to say that Seo Minhyeok was not like Seo Geon-u, who was well-known to be a womanizer.
"If there was anything between them I would have noticed. But there was never such a thing. I know better than anyone. The vice chairman was not interested in women even when they asked him to go out with them."
Jiyeon spoke to herself inwardly.
You don't know anything. You don't know how much in love they were.
"Alright, but I still need to meet Yu Minji, so please give me her contact information right away."
The head of staff obliged.
*
Yu Minji lived in a studio apartment in Mapo District.
Jiyeon called her on her phone and spoke with a gentle voice.
Jiyeon told Yu Minji they could meet at the prosecutors' office, but if she wanted then they could go somewhere else.
Minji asked Jiyeon if she could meet her at her apartment.
"Oh I'm fine, I hope it's not an inconvenience?"
"I've had panic disorder since the incident. I haven't been out of the house for a few days. I don't think I can talk to a prosecutor outside."
"Ok, I understand. I'll come to your home."
The junior police detective drove Jiyeon to the Mapo District.
Along the way, she read the messages shared by Seo Minhyeok and Yu Minji with mad enthusiasm, as well with voyeuristic guilt that she was intruding in another person's romance.
For Jiyeon, who had never had a blinding, heart-pounding love affair, it was like a new world.
They pined over how they missed biting and sucking each other…
So many dirty conversations…
She felt a little breathless just reading it.
What caught her attention was that they were equal partners.
The second son of a conglomerate family with billions of won in assets and a twenty-year old secretary.
The relationship between employer and employee had been taken to another level, but no one had known about it at all.
The most interesting part was the last conversation.
What she said a few hours before Minhyeok's death.
-I love you too. My heart is so scared…
What kind of woman was she?
It took Jiyeon about half an hour to reach her destination.
The driver said he would park the car in an underground parking lot and wait.
Jiyeon went to the twenty-second floor of the apartment building near Mapo station and looked for the apartment number Yu Minji had given her.
She was in there.
Despite the head of staff's insistence in Seo Minhyeok's disinterest in women, there was one who captured the heart of the heir to the top company in the nation.
It was like a main character of a passionate love story.
Jiyeon drew her breath and pressed the doorbell.
There was no response on the intercom, and the door simply opened.
The moment it happened,
"AAAAH!"
Jiyeon screamed, taking a step backwards and falling down.