- Yang Yoseob -

Because of Junhyung’s call, I went back to the base immediately. I left the work on Kang Heejoon’s house to Moon, Hyunseung and Dongwoon. Junhyung told me that Aegi wanted me to help her back at the office. He didn’t tell me much about Aegi’s reason to pull me back to the base. But, I could guess that it might be about the case.

As I stepped into the base, I saw Kyuri came out from the computer room with a folder on her hands. I also saw that Junhyung was sitting on his own chair while reading magazine. Both of them were looking at me when I came in.

“Where is Aegi?” I asked to Kyuri who stopped the nearest from me.

“She’s on the small meeting room with Doojoon,” Kyuri replied then handed me the folder that she brought. “I guess you will need this.”

“What is this?” I asked as I received the folder.

“Information about Park Kyunjong,” she said.

“The dead business man?” I asked then opened the folder.

“Yeah. Unnie asked me to find information about him. These are what I could find about him.”

I just nodded as I read the content. The content was filled with the information about Park Kyunjong, the properties that he had, his medical information and also any additional information about him that Kyuri got from the newspaper. I had memorized some of them because of the hospital case.

“Why does Aegi want you to find information about Park Kyunjong?” I asked to Kyuri as I raised my gaze to her.

“I think you better go and talk to Aegi by your self,” Junhyung said, making me to divert my gaze to him. “Doojoon restrains me to go out for a case.”

“So, another case?” I asked to Kyuri as I looked back to her.

“As you can guess,” she said.

I nodded as I felt understood. “I’d better go and see her,” I said then walked toward the small meeting room.

From the glass door of the meeting room, I could see that Doojoon and Aegi were talking seriously inside. Aegi was sitting on the chair and Doojoon was standing across of her with his hands rested against the table. I raised my hand and knocked. Their conversation stopped and both of them turned to look at the door. I opened the door.

“You want to see me?” I asked as I stood on the door.

I noticed that Aegi had a folder laid on the table in the front of her. “Yes,” she said. “Come in.”

I stepped in, closed the door and walked further inside to the table. As I walked, I noticed that her gaze went to the folder on my hands.

“I see that Kyuri has given you the brief,” she said.

I looked at the folder on my hands. “Yes,” I said then looked back at her. “It filled with information about Park Kyunjong.” I paused to take a breath. “But, can I ask why you want to know more about Park Kyunjong?”

I saw both leaders exchanged gazes. Then, Doojoon turned at me and leaned on the table as he crossed his arms across his chest.

“Well, as you see, Kyuri got some numbers from Kang Heejoon’s private notebook,” Doojoon said.

“Yeah. I was the one that found those numbers,” I said.

“And she had cross-checked the numbers with Kang Heejoon’s personal phone number,” Doojoon said again. “Those numbers were belonged to Yoo Im Taek, Hong Rae Jin, Im Dong-il, Lee Kwang Soo and some of his men.”

Doojoon paused for a while.

“But then, Kyuri found a phone number that very interesting for us amongst all those numbers.”

I frowned. “What kind of number?”

“Park Kyunjong’s phone number,” Aegi said suddenly.

I felt kinda surprised to hear it. “But, is it supposed to be inactive by now? The owner is dead. According to the rule, the number supposed to be cut off.”

“Yes,” Aegi said. “But in contrary, the number is still active and being used. Kang Heejoon used to call the number and whoever the one who uses it used the number to call Kang Heejoon.”

“How can it be?” I asked as if it was impossible to happen.

Aegi opened her folder and took out a sheet of paper. “That was why I asked Kyuri to retrieve Park Kyunjong’s phone data from his phone provider company.” She put the paper on the table, facing me and moved it toward me. “There’s no record that the service is being stopped or hand-over to someone else.”

“So, someone uses Park Kyunjong’s number after he died.” I concluded then paused for a while as I thought about the possibility of who the number’s user was. “Is it possible for the leader of Pink Arjuna who uses the number?”

“It might be,” Doojoon said. “But, we can’t contact the number directly because he might know that we’re targeting him and trying to find him right now.”

I looked back to Aegi. “So, we need to dig deep to Park Kyunjong?”

Aegi smiled. “You’ve guessed right,” she said.

I smirked. “So, let’s go.”

Aegi stood up from her chair and walked to the door. I followed her along.

- Shin Aegi -

I watched the big house that located across the street as I rested my arms on the driving-wheel. Yoseob was sitting beside me and reading the information that we had on the tablet that he brought. Kyuri was sending the data about Park Kyunjong to the tablet instead of giving us the report in papers. Yoseob was reading the data while I drove to the house.

“Based on the investigation by the Interpol’s officers…,” Yoseob said and made me looked at him. “Park Kyunjong’s house is still occupied by his house-keeper.” Yoseob raised his gaze to look at me. “But I don’t find any record about the house is being used for charity or handed to someone else after his death.”

“Yeah, I’m getting the same thing too here,” Kyuri said through the speaker phone. She was talking with us on the phone since Yoseob seemed frustrated as he read the information. “The house is still registered under Park Kyunjong’s name. So, technically, the house belongs to no one.”

“Did you find his testament about the house or his fortune?” I asked.

“I’m trying to find it but it’ll take longer than I expected,” Kyuri said. “I’m tracing the lawyers that work directly under him and his company. And I must tell you that he hired a lot lawyers to take care of his business. But I think he was using another lawyers for taking care of his family business and it’s off the record that I found from his company.”

“That’s weird.”

I heard Yoseob talking. I turned my gaze to look at him. Yoseob was looking to the tablet on his lap. A frown formed on his face.

“What?” I asked.

“It’s stated that Park Kyunjong lost his wife 10 years after their marriage on an accident. But on his recent marital status, he still stated that he’s still married. If we’re assuming that he was remarried, there is no marriage registration under his name. There’s also nothing about his recent wife or anything about their kids.” Yoseob looked at the phone that I put on the car’s dashboard.

“Ah…” Kyuri seemed to understand. “That’s what making me frustrated too when I was looking for the information. There is less information about Park Kyunjong’s personal life than about his business or his financial. To find his company’s financial report or his personal bank report is easier than to find information about his parents.”

I looked back to the house and exhaled. “I think we’d better go and ask the house-keeper about the family,” I said to Yoseob.

“Yeah, I think so,” Yoseob nodded as he looked away from the tablet.

I looked at the phone. “We’ll talk again later. Thanks, Kyuri.”

“You’re welcome,” Kyuri replied before she cut off the phone.

I tapped the screen to turn off the call and took it. I looked at Yoseob. “Let’s go,” I said then opened the door and went out.

I closed the door and walked across the street to the house. Yoseob was following me. Even though it might not necessary, I prepared my weapon and put it back to its holster behind under my jacket. I stopped on the gate and looked at Yoseob. He just nodded, giving me a signal that he was ready. I looked back to the intercom and pressed the bell button.

“Yes?”

I heard a reply on the intercom speaker. “Hy, I’m coming from Korean Special Task Force. I want to speak with the keeper of this house regarding to the house owner.”

A moment of silence came before the gate clicked open. I looked at the gate then opened it wider and entered. Yoseob entered after me. Both of us walked across the yard. As I walked, I observed the yard. For a house that had been left by its owner, the yard was well-kept. The bushes, the grass and the trees were cut and kept from over-growth. No leaves were left on the ground. The flowers were well-treated. I noticed a rose garden on the yard. Somehow, I felt that I’ve seen the rose garden before.

“The yard is well-kept as if the master of the house still lives here,” Yoseob said and made me turned my gaze on him. “Why would they do that if he is not here?”

“That’s what we’re trying to find out,” I said then walked up the set of stairs to the door. I turned to him. “But mostly, it’s probably because of the owner of this house is still coming to this house.” Then I turned back to face the door.

At the moment, the front door was opened. A young maid was welcoming us. “Welcome. Chief is waiting for you.” She opened the door wider to let us entered the house.

The maid closed the door and leaded us to the inner room. As I walked, I observed the house.

The house was big and used the modern style. I didn’t notice the specific detail of the house because it wasn’t important for me. But I saw a set of stairs across the front door. There were pictures displayed on the wall beside the stairs. But all of them were displaying a man with different activities. I recognized the man as Park Kyunjong. I walked passing a small half-rounded table. There were more pictures on the top of the table. I noticed that there was also picture of a woman sitting on a chair and holding a baby on her hands. She was beautiful but her expression was bothering me. She seemed to be unpleased even though she was putting an arrogant and happy look on her face. But I ignored it for a while as the maid leaded us to the inner room.

As we came, I saw an old man was standing there. He seemed to wait for us. I was guessing that his age might be around 60’s. He was using a suit just like a real buttler. He reminded me to an England buttler. He started walking toward us when he saw us entering the room. He stopped in the front of me.

“Hello, I’m Yoon Iljung, the head buttler,” he said politely.

I took my badge and showed it to him. “Shin Aegi from KSTF.” I introduced my self then threw a quick glance to Yoseob. “He’s Yang Yoseob.” I put back my badge. “We come to ask you about your master, Park Kyunjong.”

“Ah.” Yoon Iljung looked understand. “I’ve thought so. I’ll try to help as far as I can.” He pointed at the sofa. “Please have a seat.”

I threw a look on Yoseob, telling him to do whatever he wanted. Yoseob just nodded and walked toward the shelf. I wanted him to observe the house. I walked to the sofa. I saw a coffee table with a decoration flower vase on it. “It’s a nice house,” I said as I sat.

Yoon Iljung smiled. “Master Kyunjong built the house to meet his likes. He lived in England when he was young so he wanted to make one house like the one where he lived.” He explained as he sat.

“I’ve seen it,” I said. “His liking showed if you look on the house.”

Yoon Iljung smiled again and nodded slightly.

“How long have you been working for Park Kyunjong?” I asked.

He smiled. “I’ve been working for him ever since he was born,” Yoon Iljung said. “I’m practically raising him up.”

“So, this house is his inheritage from his parent?”

“Not really,” he said. “This land was given to Master Kyunjong from his parent.” He turned his gaze to another direction.

I noticed that he was looking at Yoseob who was standing by the fireplace. “Was he coming from a rich family?” I asked to divert his gaze back on me.

The old buttler chuckled as he looked back at me. “I guess he was.”

“How old are you? 60? 70?”

“I’m 65 to be precised,” he said.

“Ah… you’re a loyal servant,” I said as I smiled. “I bet your master is lucky to have you.”

“I hope I don’t offend you with my question, Miss.” He dropped his gaze to the table between us for a moment. “But, why are you asking about my self?”

I smiled. “I just remember to my nanny, the one who serve my family for years. You remind me a lot of her. She also takes care of me and my brothers since we were little.”

“Ah…” He looked understand. “So, you must be understood on how we feel about our masters.”

I just chuckled and nodded slightly. “Well, earlier, I saw your master’s pictures on the lobby,” I said. “He seemed to have a lot of activities.”

Again, he dropped his gaze before answering me. “Yes, Master Kyunjong never liked to sit behind the table and work. He liked to socialize. He did everything. Playing golf, attending social parties…”

“But what about his family?” I asked straight to the point, cutting off his speech.

Yoon Iljung stopped and looked at me when I asked. His expression seemed to change.

“I’m aware that Mr. Park Kyunjong lost his wife years ago on an accident. But, there’s no change on his marital status. So, I assumed that he remarried afterward. But we found no information about his second marriage.” I paused. “Can you tell me about it?”

Yoon Iljung looked at me for a while as if he was observing me.

“We also can’t find his testament for his fortune,” I said. “But it’s just the matter of time until we find the lawyer that kept the will. So, before the time comes, I suggest you to tell us something.”

Yoon Iljung exhaled slowly then leaned back. He dropped his gaze. “It’s not right to speak ill about someone who has died.”

“I know.”

“But…” Yoon Iljung raised his gaze to look at me. “My master’s personal life was a little complicated.” He looked calm. “All I can tell you that my Master was indeed remarried after his wife died. But inside of this house, we are forbidden to talk about her.”

“Why?” I asked. But I noticed a slight dislike expression on his eyes before he blinked and dropped his gaze.

Yoon Iljung stood up afterward and looked at me with a polite look just like all the buttler had on their face. “I’m afraid to tell you that our time is finished. So, I’m terribly sorry for asking you to leave.”

I exhaled softly. I knew that I wouldn’t get any further information from the old buttler. I lowered my gaze to the decoration flower vase. It was filled with fake flowers. But I noticed something flashing from inside the vase. I quickly realized what it was. So, I stood up from the chair.

“Fine,” I said as I stood up. I looked around and saw that Yoseob already stood on the door. I looked back to the buttler. “I’ll be leaving then.”

“I’m appreciated it, Miss.”

I walked toward Yoseob. But then, the picture that I saw earlier was bugging me. So, I stopped and turned to the old buttler. “But one more question,” I said.

Yoon Iljung looked at me. He seemed not to mind.

“Does Park Kyunjong have a kid?” I asked.

Yoon Iljung seemed to think before he could answer. I thought that he was selecting his words. “He was…,” he paused, “…not lucky enough.”

He lied. It was the thing that I had in mind when I heard his answer. But, I saw a change in his eyes and I heard a change in his voice that indicated him lying.

But, I didn’t want to push futher. So, I just gave a fake smile. “Thank you for your cooperation.” I nodded slightly. “Good day, sir.” I turned and walked away afterward.

- Yang Yoseob -

I turned and followed Aegi as she walked passing by my side. I lined up my steps with her steps till I walked beside her.

“He was lying,” I said softly but loud enough for her to hear me.

“I know,” she replied me as she stopped and looked at the house for a while. She looked back at me. “Just get out from this house first.”

I just nodded and went silent as we walked toward the door. Aegi nodded slightly to thank the maid before walked out to the yard.

“The buttler won’t speak no matter what.” Aegi started to talk again as we walked out the gate and approached the car. “He’s too loyal to this family.”

“Or probably because he’s afraid,” I said. “The house is equipped with hidden cameras. I found one hidden in the decoration by the fireplace.”

Aegi stopped on the driver’s side and turned to me with a smile on her lips. “So, you’ve noticed. Nice.” But then, her smile disappeared as she took out her key and unlocked the car. “Get in.”

So, Aegi knew that the house was under survaillence. But how could she know?

I looked at her to ask but she already entered the car. So, I went around the car to the passenger’s side and got in.

“How can you know?” I asked.

“I saw one inside the flower vase,” she said as she looked around. “It’s common to have CCTV or spying cameras inside a house like that. But to have one inside the vase, it’s over-reacted. So, I’m guessing that someone is watching on the staffs.”

I felt amazed with Aegi in the most of the time. I always knew that she was famous with her surveillance skill. But I had never known that she was quick too.

“So, Yoon Iljung might be afraid to talk because someone is watching him.” I concluded.

“It might be,” she said as she shrugged. “But at least, he has given me something to look onto by his distinct lie.”

I frowned. “What?”

“I will need to check on his late wife.” Aegi said as she shrugged then she drove away.

From Author:

Another update~ and I would like to say: Merry Christmas~!!

But sorry for another long break between the previous chapter and this one. I'm kinda busy on this holiday. I hope you will enjoy this chapter~ ^^

If you have twitter account, you can add me on @AFFalize_sakura.

Thank you for reading, subscribing or commenting~ Enjoy reading.