Chapter 4. Clue & Smile.

Taeyeon follows as the ahjumma in the housekeeping uniform leads her through the well-decorated reception area. She comes to Daejeon without much preparation and feels grateful that Detective Oh from Daejeon police agency has managed to get her an appointment with the owner of the huge manor.

Apparently, Lee Minjun, the homicide victim from Daejeon belonged to a very-very important family because she can't just flash her badge at the door demanding an interview.

“Mrs. Lee will meet you shortly, please take a seat.” The maid bows a little then leaves Taeyeon alone.

Taeyeon observes the room as she sits on the comfortable leather chairs. Every thing in the room, from the thick rug underneath her boots to the ticking grandpa clock by the fireplace,  screams of how wealthy the family is. Taeyeon quickly notices something worth noted for the investigation. The other two victims were commoners living in small rented places with no immediate family. This Lee Minjun is the anomaly that might crack the case open and this is the exact place where Taeyeon knows she should dig harder for information.

As she observes further, Taeyeon catches sight of the many picture frames on top of the fireplace. She stands up and comes to scrutinizes every picture. Most of the pictures show how happy the family of tree was before. There are many pictures of Lee Minjun, ranging from when he was just a smiling little kid to the one where he was posing in front of a university with his parents. Taeyeon immediately finds something odd with most of the pictures.

“See anything interesting?” A woman who seems to be in her sixty enters the room. Two maids tail her with a tray of golden tea set and plates full of biscuits and scones.

“I'm Lee Minjun's mother.” The woman doesn't extends her hand to shake Taeyeon's proffered hand, just taking her seat with a lifted chin.

Mrs. Lee clearly shows her class, effectively telling Taeyeon to thread carefully around her.

“I'm sorry, Mrs. Lee. My curiosity made me forget my manner. I'm Kim Taeyeon. I work with the NPA, National-”

“Manner isn't really what most cops good at.” It easy to feel the coldness in the woman's words. Taeyeon inwardly braces herself as she sits down and keeps eye-contact with the lady in blue dress. “Please, have some tea.”

Taeyeon takes a sip of tea from her cup, preparing her questions. But the lady beats her to it.

“Anything I can say regarding my son's death, I have said it to the officers from Daejeon PA. Detective Oh's father might be a good friend of my late husband, but it doesn't mean I'll appreciate every try at reminding me of my  recent loss.”

“My apology, Mrs. Lee.”

“Apology accepted. Please also enjoy the biscuits and the scones before you leave, I made them myself.”

Well, there she goes, the woman shows Taeyeon the exit in a not-so-subtle way.

“I come here on duty, Mrs.Lee.” Taeyeon takes a bite of the scone. It tastes pretty good, despite the cold reception from the host. “I'm here to prevent what had happened to your son from happening again to other people, Mrs. Lee. I completely understand that my presence disturbs your peace, but if you could answer my  questions, I will leave soon.”

It's not Taeyeon's first time of bumping into such obstacle in the course of her career. People don't always welcome a detective like her with open hands, especially not in a homicide case.

Taeyeon stares at the lady, undeterred. This one question might lead her to more facts later. She needs answer.

“One question.” The lady waves her hand in diminishing manner.

Taeyeon actually has a long list of questions in her minds. But since the lady is not extending any courtesy, Taeyeon decides to aks the one question that has been bothering her since she saw the many pictures otop the fireplace.  “I only see picture of your son from when he was a kid, Mrs. Lee. No baby picture. Was he adopted?”

There, no small talk, no empathy, just Taeyeon doing her job.

Seconds tick by with no answer. Taeyeon keeps her eyes on the lady though, scanning for any change of facial expression. There's none, the lady is as cold as she was before Taeyeon asked the question.

“Yes.” After a while, the lady answers while standing up. “Minjun is adopted. Now if you excuse me, Detective Kim. I have other things to tend to.”

“Noona, I was just about to call you.” Bambam answers the call immediately. “I have new information.”

“Me too.” Taeyeon presses the phone between her shoulder and her ear as she enters her car. “You go first.”

“Chanyeol manages to pull records on both Kwon Nari and Jung Yohan. He can only find data about them down to twenty years ago, noona. As if they had just suddenly popped into this country in the exact same year. Kwon Nari was twenty nine years old when she first made an ID and Jung Yohan was seventeen when he was first listed as a foster child in Saint Mary foster home.”

“Really? Are they in witness protection system or something?” She starts her car and turns on the air conditioner, ready to go as soon as the call is ended.

“That's the problem, noona. Chanyeol can't find any further information about them. Not before 20 years ago.”

“What? Did you mean the information is restricted? Do we need higher security level for this? Alert the chief.”

“I have, noona. The chief said he'll look into it as soon as possible. What about your finding in Daejeon?”

“Lee Minjun was adopted. I'm heading to Daejeon PA for more information now.”

“Really? From what I can get of his file. His late father was a retired Navy Admiral.”

“Exactly. There is something more to these victims, Bambam. Alert me when you get words from the chief. I'll go to police agency now, bye.”

“Take care, noona. Bye.”

Taeyeon drives out of the large yard on faster than usual. The road is empty in such elite housing complex. When she almost drives out of the gated community, she sees familiar features on a man that walks slowly on the side of the road.

Taeyeon furrow her brows.

It's Jiyong.

Her neighbor is walking with his hands in the pockets of a beige coverall. The pink long-sleeved shirt and the colorful bucket hat make him completely stands out on the roadside. He looks like a really fancy gardener but his sunglasses on and the sling bag on his shoulder begs to differ.

Taeyeon brakes her Mercedes slowly as she sticks her head out of the car window. “Hey....Jiyong?

“Oh! Taeyeon!” He stops walking and takes off the shades. “What are you doing here?”

Taeyeon stops her car. “Working. What are you doing here?”

“Ummm... I.... I was looking for a friend.”

“Yeah?” Taeyeon looks over Jiyong's shoulder at the row of huge mansions behind him. They both live in a mediocre apartment, so it's kind off hard to picture one of them having acquaintances here. But Jiyong works in fashion industry, of course he has acquaintances in places that Taeyeon doesn't even dare to dream of. “Do you need help?”

He sighs. Eyes look up at the clear blue sky for a short moment before he bends over to level his eyes with Taeyeon's “You're going back to Seoul?”

“Yep. Need to do something at local police agency first though.”

“I see. Can I ride with you?”

Taeyeon blinks. Of course it's a courtesy for her to offer a ride to Jiyong who doesn't seem to have any vehicle with him. But she's on duty.

“I'll be very quiet. I'll stay in the car while you're working.”

Taeyeon bites her lower lip, thinking.

“If bullets start flying. I swear I won't scream.” He grins. The adorable grin that makes Taeyeon forgets how to be rational. “You can even use m