After school the next day, Yoona immediately hopped on her bike and rode to 304 Petunia Street. Her hair flew wildly behind her and beads of sweat began to roll down her forehead.

The clock in the town square read 5:29pm. She was almost thirty minutes late. If only the math teacher hadn’t asked her to help arrange the textbooks, she would’ve made it on time.

With a screech, Yoona’s bike came to a stop in front of a two-story brownstone building. Donghae was sitting on a bench a couple of houses away. He had white earphones plugged into his ears and he seemed to be enjoying and singing along to the music. At the sight of Yoona, the boy stood up and made his way towards her.

“O-oppa,” Yoona breathed as she got off her bicycle. “I-I’m sorry I’m late…”

Before she could finish, Donghae grabbed her hand and gently pulled her along to the house’s front steps. “This is our final suspect. Kim Kyubong, male, thirty-three years old. He used to be the victim’s co-worker but was supposedly fired because of her. He works as a butcher now.”

Kim Kyubong turned out to be an angry-looking, tall, lean, heavyset man. He lives with his wife – a thin, stern-faced woman with a huge mole on her cheek. 

“As I was saying,” Kyubong explained as he sat facing the investigators in the family room. “I was supposed to be promoted to Executive Assistant in the life insurance company before that vixen decided to file a ual harassment charge against me. I can swear – Hey, honey, why does this coffee taste so bland?”

Kyubong’s voice was loud and rough. It made Donghae and Yoona jump in their seats. Silently, Mrs. Kim entered the living room. Her hands were placed on her hips as she spoke, “You have diabetes and hypertension. How many times do I have to tell you that you’re only allowed decaffeinated coffee with no sugar?”

Twisting on her heels, Mrs. Kim returned to the kitchen, her chin high up in the air.

“Argh,” Kyubong scowled then turned back to the pair. “Darn that woman. Anyway, I can swear on my mother’s grave that I have nothing to do with that ual harassment charge. Park Chohee made it up to get me out of the way just so she could get that goddamn position. That good for nothing animal had more influence than me in the workplace. She used her looks, her charm and whatever else she’s got. The boss believed her and fired me. It doesn't surprise me to know she was murdered. She had it coming.”

Wow. Park Chohee sure made a lot of enemies. Yoona thought as she listened to Kyubong’s account. 

“Where were you during the time of the crime?” Donghae asked.

“Why do you ask?” Kyubong replied with a sneer. “Don’t tell me you’re accusing me of killing her.”

“Sir, we are asking everyone else this question –“

“Blah, blah, blah,” Kim Kyubong cut in and rolled his eyes. “I know what you’re up to. Of course, I was here at home.”

“No you weren’t,” It was Mrs. Kim. She had come back from the kitchen and was now leaning on the wall, with her arms across her chest. “You were off somewhere else.”

Upon hearing this, Kyubong turned beet-red. His muscles tensed and he looked as if he was ready to explode. Taking several deep breaths, the butcher turned towards his wife. “I was here at home!”

“NO YOU WERE NOT! After I walked our son early to school, our neighbor told me she saw you leave the house,” Mrs. Kim’s shrill voice pierced the air like a sharp iron arrow.

“Honey, please,” Kyubong tried to appease his wife, waving his arms desperately. “Let’s talk about this some other time.”

Mrs. Kim clicked her tongue and stomped off into the kitchen, leaving her helpless husband behind. 

“You must believe me. I didn’t kill Chohee even though I’d wanted to. Argh! Shouldn’t have said that! You better just leave. This isn’t the best time to talk about things like this. Argh!” Kyubon’s face was getting redder and redder each minute in frustration and anger. He stood up and motioned towards the door.

Reluctantly, Donghae and Yoona left the Kim residence with a million questions running through their minds. 

“It seems as if he could be the murderer,” Donghae said, but upon seeing the worried expression on Yoona’s face, he quickly added. “But as you’ve said, we shouldn’t jump to conclusions.”

“Right,” Yoona said. “Let’s ask the neighbors if they really saw Kim Kyubong leave his house that Thursday afternoon.”

~~~

It turned out that one of the neighbors, a housewife, really did see Kyubong leave and come back that fateful Thursday morning. 

“He returned home an hour or two later and he was carrying a yellow plastic bag with blue checkers on it…” the neighbor reported, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. “That’s all I can remember.” 

“Thank you, maam,” Donghae said, bowing politely as he and Yoona walked back to the sidewalk.

“So he did leave,” Yoona said to herself when she and Donghae finally reached their bikes. She was beginning to doubt Kim Kyubong’s alibi. Although just like the first two suspects, no one can attest to his whereabouts. But unlike them, he acted more defensive. Was he really the killer? 

Suddenly, her phone rang and disrupted her thoughts. Without looking at the screen, she picked it up and answered, “Hello?”

“Yoona! I’m glad I finally reached you. I just got off the airport from Macau a couple of hours ago. I’m driving to Jeongsan now. We’re going to meet at the lady’s section of the department store at around 6:00 to get you some clothes for the meet-up with your husband to be, alright? See you!” 

It was her mother.