photo credit to http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w7MMUJidgKs/VB5tAfdrD6I/AAAAAAAA7v0/vMLmkNrvze0/s1600/t-ara%2Beunjung%2Bqri%2B(2).jpg

thank you for reading this story and for sharing your feedbacks :)

i've been leaving out clues about this case. one of you have guessed right. it has something to do with why Patrick was bothered. there is another one. i kept on mentioning it since chapter 4. hehe. what am i talking about? it's on this chapter. :D

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The next day, Qri went to the police station to meet her client. She is not sure if her client is going to meet her given that their last meeting didn’t go well. She was relieved that her client decided to show up. Eunjung sat on the chair opposite Qri. The lawyer waited til the police officer is out before talking.

“Eunjung ah, I need your full cooperation on this.”

Eunjung looked at her lawyer. All night she kept on thinking about the night Patrick died trying to find if there is something she might have missed. Eunjung closed her eyes. A part of her knew that this case has already been decided and that there is nothing they can do. Another part of her does not want to give up, she wanted to trust her lawyer and fight… for her mom. She released a long breath. Still closing her eyes, she nodded. She opened her eyes and looked directly to her lawyer, “For Umma.”

Qri was thankful that her client was now willing to cooperate and fight.

“What do you need from me? I already told you everything I know.”

“Tell me everything you know about Patrick.”

“Patrick?”

“I want to know your relationship with him. Does he have any enemies? Or was he ever in trouble?”

“No, Patrick is a good guy. I don’t know any enemies of him. Being a troublemaker is also far from his personality. Yes, he gives his parents a few headaches but never a troublemaker. Despite being from a wealthy and prominent family, he is very humble. He is my brother. He is our family.”

“How about drugs? Gangs?”

“No. Patrick has never taken drugs so have I. Patrick knows any better that he shouldn’t associate himself with drugs or gangs considering his father is the Mayor. He would not involve himself to something that might ruin his father’s candidacy.”

“I thought Mayor Kwang’s brother, Henry Kwang is the one running for mayor.”

“Mayor Kwang was planning on running for the elections but because of what happened to Patrick, he decided to step down. And so his brother is the one running for mayor to replace him.”

“Has Patrick ever acted weird or troubled?”

Eunjung tried to recall but there was nothing. She shook her head.

“Mrs. Ham said she found Patrick sweaty and exhausted two weeks before that incident. She said he was wearing your jacket.”

“Yeah I remember that day. He was wearing my leather jacket in a hot humid day.”

“Don’t you find it weird?”

“He said he tried riding a bike the first time and wanted to get the whole biker get-up.” Eunjung answered as if it was normal. She knew her friend can be weird sometimes.

“The table in the kitchen, has it always been uneven?”

“I don’t really recall until Patrick pointed it out that day. My mom kept nagging on me to have it fixed. Why are asking me these questions?” She finds it weird that her lawyer is asking about their table.

“The prosecution will find a lot of loopholes in our argument.”

“So you’re saying that they can easily pin Patrick’s death on me. But I didn’t kill him.”

“I know. I believe you. We will present the argument of your relationship with Patrick. Mrs. Ham would have been the best witness to that. But it was still not enough to turn over the case. And given the situation, she's confined in the hospital so we will have to find another way.”

“And what does the table has to do with this?”

“Everything. If my hunch is correct.”

Eunjung has this confuse expression. Qri pulled out a piece of paper from her bag and laid it on the table. Eunjung looked at it. The paper looks like a torn page. There were hand written letters and numbers she could not understand. The paper seem like it was folded and crumpled for a long time. Eunjung tried to read the letters but she cannot decipher it. She looked up to her lawyer asking for explanation.

“You have no idea what this is?”

“No.”

Qri sighed with disappointment. She knew from watching Eunjung earlier that her client has no idea what this is. She took the paper and hid it inside her bag. Like her client, she has no idea what this papers is but she knew this is something important for the case and she cannot afford to lose it.

Eunjung is confused, first it was Patrick then the table and now a confusing piece of paper.

“I found this piece of paper under your kitchen table. The day when we were gunned down, I turned the table so that Mrs. Ham and I can take cover.” Qri paused and looked at her client to see her reaction from mentioning Mrs. Ham and the attack. Seeing that her client is taking it better, she continued. “Finding it was accidental but if I piece everything together it makes sense. Both you and Mrs. Ham only realized that you table was uneven when Patrick pointed it out. According to Mrs. Ham’s story, it was two weeks before the incident. She said Patrick came in all sweaty and exhausted rushing to the kitchen. That day he was wearing your jacket. Before leaving, he pointed out about the table. The day before the incident he called Mrs. Ham and again he mentioned about the table.”

“He keeps mentioning about the table. That night we hang out, he said he'll fix the table for us.” Eunjung recalled how Patrick kept asking about the table and saying that he will fix it.

“At first, I assume he was trying to give you a message but after seeing your reaction. You clearly have no idea about what is happening. I think he was checking if the paper he hid under your table is still there. Patrick might know something and this paper can help us find out.”

“Wait are you saying that that piece of paper can help me prove my innocence?”

“I am not 100% sure. But this is great evidence once we figure out what this means. If it is a code or something. But since we both have no idea what was written on it, we can try tracking down where Patrick went that day he wore your jacket.”

“Shouldn’t you let the police handle this?” Eunjung asked.

“Do you want me to hand over this piece of evidence to the police?” Qri asked back.

 Eunjung shook her head. Qri is right. This piece of evidence might be the key and she cannot just hand it over to the police. There are only very few people she can trust, her mom and her lawyer.

“Eunjung, I suggest we keep this to ourselves.”

Eunjung nodded in agreement with her lawyer.

--

“I will have a spicy black noodle with radish on the side.”

The cashier gave a good look at the woman who ordered before calling out, “Mir, cover me for a while!”

The woman was relief that she said the correct code. She might be wearing a poker face but deep inside she is nervous.

This overly excited guy called Mir runs to the cashier and salutes the guy who just called him. “Neh hyung!” He shouted.

The guy from the cashier walked her through the door and knocked. They heard a faint ‘Come in’. The guy opened the door and said, “Someone’s here to see you” revealing the visitor.

The guy sitting behind the desk nod and said, “Thank you GO”

The woman though unsure walked inside the office.

“It’s a pleasure meeting you, Park Hyomin.” The guy walked to Hyomin and shook her hand. “I’m Yang Seungho.”

“Nice meeting you Yang Seungho.”

“Please have a seat.” Hyomin took a seat while Seungho sat at the edge of his desk. “What can I do for you?”

“Park Soyeon sent me here.”

Seungho smiled, “Ahh…Soyeonnie… yes she did mention something to me.” He said before taking something his desk and handing it to Hyomin.