episode_0027
by admin# 27
“This is the dish you ordered. First, let me explain the dish. It is served with a reduction sauce made with high-quality red wine and mashed potatoes made with truffle oil… ”
A high-end restaurant in the city.
In that place, which was renowned for its sophisticated atmosphere and top-notch cooking skills, Yunseol listened to the chef’s explanation with a somewhat cowering expression.
“… Well, enjoy your meal.”
It wasn’t that Yunseol was unfamiliar with such high-class restaurants.
Because his family was originally wealthy, and his financial situation naturally became more comfortable as he started working as a hero.
Since occasionally taking Manager Jiyeon out to eat a course meal was one of her hobbies, the chef’s lengthy explanations were never a burden to Yunseol.
There was another reason.
That’s right,
“Seol-ah. How is it? Does the meat suit your taste?”
“Yes… .”
It was because of Hwayoung, the red-haired woman who was elegantly sweeping the steak in front of my eyes.
‘… It’s burdensome.’
Originally, Hwayoung and Yunseol were not close enough to sit face to face and eat like they do now.
Rather, we were in a relationship where we could say that something was bad if we said it was bad.
It could also be defined as a relationship where Hwayoung is gently scratching Yunseol unilaterally.
Then one day,
“Ms. Hwayoung? What brings you here… ”
A few days ago, Hwayoung suddenly showed up in front of Yunseol’s house.
She was holding a set of high-quality chocolates in both hands, and when Yunseol approached,
“Hey, Mr. Yoonseol. I’m sorry for everything.”
He said that and bowed his head deeply.
*
“Seol-ah. What are you thinking?”
“… Just. Because it’s interesting.”
Now we are like this, facing each other and eating together.
“Hoohoo.”
Hwayoung smiles as if she knows what I’m talking about.
To be honest, it’s still a little awkward, but… it’s better now than when we were at odds with each other.
“Seol-ah. After you finish eating, should we go to Do-han’s store?”
“Yes?”
If it’s Mr. Dohan… you’re talking about the president, right?
“It’s close to here. It’s okay to just go and see the face.”
‘ah.’
Again. My chest feels stuffy again.
… At this point, even an idiot would know. This isn’t a cold.
If I feel like something is weighing on my chest whenever I think about the boss, it can’t be a cold.
No way, I like the boss…
‘No way.’
That’s what love is, right? A little more romantic. Sweeter. Fluffy. Something like that.
There was no reason for me to like the boss in the first place.
Of course, the boss listened to my story, took my side, was kind, and now that I think about it, he was a bit handsome… Oh.
Oh, my.
“Seol-ah. What’s wrong? You said you were dispatched today. Did you get hurt somewhere?”
“Oh, no. I’m just a little dizzy.”
“Hmm… Really? Then, should we just eat and then part ways today?”
Hwayoung continued speaking in a slightly exaggerated tone.
“Ah~ I guess I’ll have to go to Dohan’s store alone.”
… Before I knew it, Hwayoung was looking at me with a mischievous smile.
Moreover, Hwayoung’s gaze is like watching an exciting drama.
“… If Ms. Hwayoung says so.”
For some reason, I felt a little sad, so I put my thoughts aside for a moment and answered calmly.
“Hey. Just kidding. And I told you to call me Hwayoung unnie… Oh. Wait a minute. I got a call from Dohan.”
…the boss?
Could it be that the two were in contact privately as well?
“Hey, what’s going on, honey? Why are you calling at this hour?”
But, something is a little strange.
“Uh, uh. If it’s Jia… That part-timer, right?”
Hwayoung’s expression gradually hardens.
Her voice, which had been slightly excited when she first answered the phone, was now completely devoid of any trace of smile.
“Yeah. Stay there. I’ll be there soon.”
Hwayoung’s expression after hanging up the phone was still serious.
Then she spoke to me in a voice that seemed to be filled with apology.
“Excuse me. Seol-ah. Something urgent came up. Let’s part ways here for today.”
After saying that, Hwayoung hurriedly packed her bags and headed somewhere.
“… .”
It seems like something happened with the boss.
I grabbed Hwayoung before she left the restaurant and spoke firmly to her.
“I’ll go with you too.”
***
[Yes. If you could give me a detailed description of your appearance, I will use it as a reference for the search. Did you say your name was Lee Ji-ah?]
“Yes. She has black hair and it probably reaches her waist. She has yellow eyes and she’s about a head shorter than me… so she’s about 160 cm tall.”
[Yes. Black hair… Height 160… Yes. What is your relationship with the person who reported it?]
“… This is my brother. Please take good care of him.”
[Okay. If you have a photo of the missing person, please submit it to the nearest police station.]
“Yes.”
Stop.
“Hoo.”
After I got off the phone with Hwayoung, I reported her missing to the police just in case… but honestly, I didn’t have high expectations.
The police station I was at used to receive between 10 and 20-30 missing person reports a day, but most of those cases, where someone as old as Jia was missing, were treated as simply running away from home.
“… Oppa. I’ll submit the photos I took with Jia to the police station, and then I’ll go look for Jia near the mart.”
“Okay. Please.”
After that, Min-ah went out to find Jia, and I waited inside the store for Hwa-young to come.
And a little later.
Tiring.
“Honey, are you here?”
The door opened loudly and Hwayoung came inside.
… and one more after that.
“… Hello, boss.”
“Mr. Yoonseol?”
How did the two of them end up together? I wondered for a moment.
“Hwayoung… I heard about your situation. I heard that a child who worked at your store went missing. I will help you too.”
… It seems that Yunseol also came to help search for Ji-ah. It was a blessing. The more people there are in searching for missing persons, the better.
Even more so if it’s the hero Yun Seol.
While I was thinking like that, Hwayoung came up to me and said.
“Honey. Come with me for now. I’ll tell you more details as we go.”
“… Okay.”
After that, I forgot to close the store,
I followed Hwayoung straight into her car.
.
Booong-
“Where are you going by any chance?”
In the car driving on the road, I asked Hwayoung cautiously.
Then, Yunseol answers in place of Hwayoung.
“… Police station. Hwayoung… I called to request CCTV footage before you arrived at the store. ”
“Is that actually possible?”
Even if you are a hero, aren’t requests to view CCTV footage or search for missing persons within the police’s domain?
My doubts were immediately resolved by Hwayoung’s subsequent words.
“… I lied a little. I’m looking for a villain, so I asked for your cooperation. Usually, they’ll do you a favor. ”
“You went that far… .”
Hwayoung said it nonchalantly, but wasn’t it an action that could easily tarnish her reputation?
“What can I do when he asks me in such an urgent voice? I have to do what I can.”
“Ms. Hwayoung… .”
What should I do? She’s so cool. Is this what they call girl crush?
And honestly, it was touching.
Hwayoung told me to contact her if there was anything I could help her with, but I didn’t know she would go this far.
“Thank you. I will definitely repay this favor later.”
“It’s okay. Thanks to you, I became close with Seol. Later, when work is done well, treat me to a cocktail.”
“I’ll give you a few drinks. As much as you want.”
While I was expressing my gratitude to Hwayoung, my eyes suddenly turned to Yunseol, who was silent.
“… .”
She is quietly looking at me.
‘And now that I think about it, I forgot to thank you.’
If you think about it, Yunseol also came all the way here despite her busy schedule.
Besides, it had been quite a while since I last saw him. The last time I saw him was when I was working as a manager.
“Thank you so much, Mr. Yoon Seol. Sorry for bothering you for nothing. ”
I immediately thanked her too.
“No. I had a meal with that kid, but I feel uneasy… I owe the boss a favor too.”
“Ahahaha… .”
I’ve thought about this for a long time, but Yunseol seems like a very affectionate person.
Quite the opposite of the cold image sometimes shown in interviews or news articles.
“Over there.”
As I was thinking like that, Yunseol spoke with a somewhat cautious tone.
“That, that part-timer… was it Jia? Anyway. That girl named Jia… .”
A slur that leaves the end of a sentence unfinished.
She moved her lips for a moment, then said something rather unexpected.
“Are you living together by any chance?”
“Yes?”
When I asked back, taken aback by Yunseol’s sudden remark, she immediately added as if trying to sort things out.
“I, last time… on my way home from work, I happened to see the two of you walking together. I thought maybe you were dating… I, I really just saw you by chance.”
… I think there is some misunderstanding.
“What? Honey. Are you dating that girl named Ji-ah?”
Hwayoung also heard our conversation and joined in.
‘What should I do?’
At first, I was going to just say that I was a part-timer, but I felt guilty about lying to the two people who were helping me like this. Plus, I felt like they might be a little suspicious.
“Actually, what happened was… ”
I ended up explaining to them what happened when Zia and I first met and how I ended up becoming a part-time worker.
Of course, I’ll skip the overly sensitive parts.
“Hmm. Honey. I’ve been thinking about this for a while… ”
“Yes?”
“You’re really kind. To the point where it’s unbelievable.”
…I guess I should take that as a compliment. But it’s not a bad thing, so whatever.
I decided to take Hwayoung’s words in a positive light for now and looked at Yunseol’s expression next to me.
“… We weren’t dating.”
It looks like he has a relieved expression on his face… Ah. I must have seen something wrong.
After a while, we arrived at our destination, the police station.
“Arrived. Let’s get off.”
A middle-aged police officer who looked slightly older was waiting for us at the main gate in front of the police station, perhaps because he had been contacted by Hwayoung in advance.
“Are you Hwayoung and your group? Just follow me in.”
I followed him into the police station, hoping that nothing would happen to Zia.
“Ah. You can come in here.”
Following his guidance, we entered an office that had a sign that said [Investigation Support Team].
The police officer who guided us to our seats then skillfully manipulated the mouse to bring up the CCTV screen on the monitor.
“You said you saw someone who seemed to be a villain in front of the mart? Fortunately, the manager there hadn’t left work yet, so we were able to secure the CCTV footage. We were able to contact the owner of the nearby vehicle’s black box, but it was too late… .”
A police officer scratches his head as if apologizing.
To be honest, it’s surprising that things are being processed this quickly, even though it hasn’t been that long since I reported it.
“And, sorry. My daughter is a fan of Hwayoung… Can I get an autograph?”
… there was some selfishness mixed in.
‘Anyway, it’s fortunate.’
“Now is not the time, I’ll do it later.”
“Ah. Yes. Okay. ”
Hwayoung puts off the police officer’s request for her autograph.
After that, we gathered together and focused our eyes on the screen.
“Let’s go see it together first. Did you happen to hear from the customer what time he saw it?”
Obviously,
“He said between 5 and 6 o’clock.”
“Hmm. Wait a minute. Let’s start watching at 5 o’clock at full speed.”
Click. Click. With just a few clicks of the police officer’s mouse, the CCTV footage from around 5 o’clock was played on the monitor.
Fortunately, the CCTV footage wasn’t that bad in quality. If you zoom in, you can see people’s faces.
“… .”
As people were moving around frantically on the screen, a familiar silhouette came into view.
“Uh. Wait a minute. Stop right there.”
“Yes.”
Same impression as the photo of Jia that Minah sent me this morning.
A black-haired girl holding a shopping bag that appears to contain clothes.
It was clear that Jia.
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