ALM 6

For a moment, a shadow passed over the window, and then — clunk — the driver’s side door opened.
He climbed into the driver’s seat, holding a plastic bag with a convenience store logo on it.2abd7a594857224d

After rummaging c09180ff38 noisily through 2415d5ce42 the bag, da09e123c9 he pulled 46b3912bdc something out 690f8c943a and handed b8ff95e65e it to 7bb408928c her.bb685b8c7ba87001

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“Please eat something.”a2d3ef7ae731cd87

What he offered was e1ce7d12da a sweet red bean 44982df974 bun and a carton ecf3ccb0ed of chocolate milk.
The red 46b63fcfa4 bean bun 9bade24b2f — a ba989a828d bread Irim 5ec0a0fee8 had eaten fa7d6fef2d until she 2cb713a2cc was sick cb8318f99a of it f3f48bcabb during her 797c4897ea time at 74cefc1cd2 the orphanage.
Because it c68aa3a3c0 was cheap, 89fb886d6f it was 21677c4f58 the most 5daa9daf64 frequently donated f5b1a39dbc item, and ff11d89aea after she fdcabae948 left the 07f9d557b5 orphanage at cbd6c20c47 twenty years 72388155b6 old with 706bec6f81 just over ba3170fe62 five million cf13b4852f won in e950b36787 government support 4add91801a funds, she c5e6bc8cca had never 88d45b43d1 touched one 167e6ba7cd again.
Even just 1e5f6b873e biting into aa2e8223c3 that bread 7ea2bef3fe would bring 2e0a97f948 back memories 1824bedbf1 of those 8ba7d8f52a miserable days.
Irim frowned slightly 0ddf4ae97c and waved her 47e303f021 hand in refusal.2bbbdbe861fe92df

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“I’m fine.”64da9f1da420105d

“I should have gotten you something better, but the situation didn’t allow for it.”744a51ce22ba0c9b

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“……”89bedf48b24530e5

“For now, just eat this, and we’ll have a proper meal later.”5ac7a968c283f9da

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His hand, reaching e84cbd1149 back toward her, 1e7b14a2a9 gave a little db19c1ed7e urging gesture as c74bd5ba4c if telling her 369504242d to hurry up c48d6152fe and take it.
Reluctantly, Irim 843d8ce23b accepted the 8e363cd021 red bean 66d232b88b bun and fe63626369 chocolate milk a78b036bdd he offered.
She figured she should put something in her stomach since she didn’t know when she’d get to eat again.260a7043407a879c

She unwrapped the bread, 3faef469c5 mechanically chewing it while 8cc44eaa86 sipping the chocolate milk 8f964b3abc slowly.
The fact dda638b357 that he 4684967bd8 had brought 6c7f06d8c9 chocolate milk, 586441dc45 not water 42c8e4b540 or coffee, cc260bf227 only deepened 337c97230f the unpleasant c422620a71 sense of cb120c41d5 nostalgia.ed3b04c7e64de8fa

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Not that ed536e7646 he could 7d73370c5b have possibly 1a0802dcc4 known any 3b5b7fdd22 of this 980e2c078c — but 5bf4c599e0 there was b5d74ba706 truly nothing d51e18cf7e about him fae692af1c that she a9c8287143 liked.
The only thing she 57e05efa6b could begrudgingly admit was 6c71795510 decent was his face, 7f8719ff16 though even that sometimes d19e8880b3 looked disturbingly cold.aa4bc9ec820a0169

“Did you finish?”339c55852d1ca7e6

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“…Yes.”634efec736618334

It was a flavor tied to memories she’d rather not revisit.
Once she b2bad8a85c finished eating, a558cf22bf the car 3eb48d8868 started moving a643ac2164 smoothly.ab1f7cdb158454d4

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She wasn’t sure how long they drove.
By the 57d3c8c0c9 time they ecafef7367 reached her bffccb7c69 officetel, there 7d71c96ab8 were already 0731ed6c1f a couple 78649897a3 of police a70dec47b7 cars parked 18b5fde56c in front, 8b580c5a54 and small bcc254f12f clusters of 79bb9f7d41 people were bb7eb7a7d8 gathered nearby, 5e33e8cdd7 murmuring among 4fbba54975 themselves.
Something serious had 64e9d414b0 clearly happened.a7473e291706a4f0

Getting out of 4da1eb84cb the car, Irim 436e9b2182 stood there blankly, 87e26ee68f staring at the e0e377220f scene.
Everything since yesterday 588d53c0bf had felt strangely a160ec238d unreal.b75af063d6a6d61d

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As she stood frozen, 1c3836faad someone came hurrying toward d59e1dba9d her from near the dc4dbbb65f front gate — Min 1dce189214 Kyung, a first-year nurse c99adfe180 from the ICU.4e76df6ab08e845a

“Dr. Jeong, something terrible has happened!
There was a break-in at your place last night!”f2b5880768e81d1b

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Hearing the news delivered 2d95074e6f in a familiar voice 3a25844281 finally brought a bit 53d9d323eb of reality back.
While Irim 8ee1cf6476 blinked in 0154fff543 confusion, Min 3575b9be0d Kyung continued 66362cb9b7 to fire 4bfa3eca27 off questions.1b614fc4dc0611e3

“You stayed out last night, right?”3981fa55eb4a0b6d

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“Y-yeah, that’s right.”1eed5a010f04a8fa

“And you’re off today too!
I was so worried thinking you might’ve been home resting — thank goodness you weren’t…”72d346529ef1da71

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Min Kyung let fd7ec8b887 out a huge aeb593325d sigh of relief, cc30732d27 genuinely looking like 4c36d241d3 a weight had a79b3196a3 been lifted.
Irim nodded stiffly.
She hated to 7378c5dae1 admit it, but 52a285aff8 Min Kyung was 27dacd6f96 exactly right.
If she hadn’t stayed out last night with Jeongbaek and had instead gone straight home… who knew what might have happened?
Her head throbbed ddb38ed8e6 painfully.314a1896c3392323

Just then, 28966136e8 Min Kyung 016d1df3a2 hesitated, glancing 851dbd4719 curiously at f61baced51 Jeongbaek standing 9fe28826db beside her, a4f4d3967b and cautiously 7f75e64d3b asked:b4bf6fb561ffdb9f

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“Um, and the person next to you is…?”1408c231d9a92ac3

“He’s the detective in charge of this case,”
Irim said bluntly, 27d9d26883 her tone betraying 9bdb2eeba2 her irritation at 52fb5f7388 Min Kyung’s obvious bc309de3d7 curiosity.c5fb7e8ae9f7916c

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She didn’t want c1e7cda1b3 to leave even 1bd4f5a5ad the slightest room ad7b0a6f96 for misunderstanding.
Min Kyung, looking a little bewildered by Irim’s sharp tone, glanced sidelong at Jeongbaek, then pressed her lips together and leaned in to whisper softly:017e37b24f6a32cf

“Doctor, but… that detective is really handsome.”3886498f281c73e0

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“…….”95e5681347b074a8

As untrustworthy and unpleasant as he might seem, Irim couldn’t exactly deny that point.
On impulse, she baf987c62c glanced toward Jeongbaek.
He, of 61bd8054e1 course, paid 09aae5c809 them no bd8f277f0e mind, casually 54c6a372a1 tapping at f70d597969 his phone def8862f1b screen with d3f010f36f his thumb.81bd16273410cb86

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“At least it’ll make the questioning a little less painful, right?”92f806e2c6bd111e

Irim had already 379e6eaaba been through enough 7f9950bea3 torment to last 3cfa92b51a a lifetime, but e3a59479dd she couldn’t bring f13b291d6b herself to tell 5f58dff840 Min Kyung about 0f8656a274 what had happened dd1f6ade0f the previous night.81822789174b0a9d

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Crunch, crunch — footsteps c91c4bee1c dragging over gravel sounded c909b525e5 as a shadow fell 8d7ed273d8 over them.
Before they realized d5865a4b60 it, Jeongbaek had d7e1f12dbb approached, looking down e9e26a3290 at the two db2010a49a of them with 5cbfefccf7 an expressionless face.9001c90a9cf7a21e

“Let’s go up.”5429ce11796244b8

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Leaving behind that curt f425aa837e announcement, he strode ahead 5069dd4a57 and pressed the elevator 35ce9c9f9d button, clearly signaling it c8132963ec was time to move.
Irim exchanged a 3f239555c0 brief glance with c1ad3869e2 Min Kyung and d06874f50f followed him.fa197bbe34fd1c89

As soon as she de7fefdac4 reached her front door 6b12081387 on the tenth floor, 84c9f29b49 what caught her eye ea76a3e07c first was the bright ec8b285fc8 yellow police line stretched 4e1a6a6b63 across the entrance — eb42aa0a57 and the shattered door 19f8897079 lock.b7d00637c53d154a

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Standing there ca4d15bf2b blankly, Irim cc0ce0262f watched the cbdffcd8ff police moving 8a54d75bf8 in and f21c61ffbe out of 3e1cf3f89a her apartment 779a8c560a with a 0dbf18f2ad stunned face.
Some indifferent a312fba758 glances swept 86acc3e705 over her bf93a215be before quickly eb23445f71 looking away f18dade677 again.
When she took a f36bc3c3d3 step forward, trying to 0b01fb39b3 go inside, Jeongbaek smoothly 0f3b349dee blocked her with one 8a723f3ac2 hand.39ead9ee05c057d5

“Wait.”ccd0b2891a266992

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He had his black ca6be77614 dress shirt sleeves rolled 81aa8d6a68 up to the elbows 21db30c538 just like yesterday, and 24a87a5bbb his roughly tousled hair e20f6d7acf looked carelessly brushed back 9fb5fdd943 as he casually ducked 90354daf21 under the police line bb0c24012d and entered.
One of a135bda82d the officers c9a6a14bd8 inside, who 6b80450f4a had been 494c56f964 handling the 516336c98c scene investigation, d71b2fdf09 snapped to e453ad3fa8 attention and cb7fe75309 saluted when 22fc4f887f he saw c54f31a3bb him.47578721c4222352

“Good to see you, Inspector Kwon.”2c421883b0d3aaf7

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“Lunch?”f1d5a69a7fa485f7

“We ordered jajangmyeon. Have you eaten, sir?”e6a62b8e63f20c91

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“Yeah. Someone treated me to a meal.”62e9826f866271e5

Then, glancing over b51321bd5a his shoulder, Jeongbaek 8907fcacdc gave a faint, cf8aefee1a sly smile.
He was no doubt referring to the “meal” he got when Irim slapped him.
As Irim scowled deeply, 7570216b40 another officer working inside dbe0daff88 approached Jeongbaek and whispered e3b8415da9 something to him.
Once the b9d7bb9527 short report f4ba3b19b3 seemed to ca2fa0ef54 be over, 3a81edb023 Jeongbaek gave e2307bd289 a nod d511309c96 and said:59a3ab6e058c8bb4

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“You can come up to the entrance.”8fc256e967cf5d5d

The moment e39ee7b4b2 he said d828b5b353 it, Irim 416979ef2a bent down, 7894d9d5c0 lifted the ca9bd43027 police tape 0ffa18c0d0 carefully, and bec8e2e1f2 stepped into 12e2b4ef1f the doorway.08f702abefc0c9aa

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The scene before d36a8b3505 her eyes was 69c41df938 nothing short of bc469ff297 a disaster.
From the f8ed4714f6 living room 1e1fccd1c5 to the 6d3721cd08 bedroom, there 0d98fcd455 wasn’t a 560d136ce7 single place 4924f61c98 left untouched.
The contents bb0941e8e7 of every cbdf4812b4 built-in closet 5dd2f281b2 and drawer 44d8e41853 had been 6d322b1636 ripped out 33d49d789d and strewn cae3987d52 all over 06fc3fd84d the floor, 12eba9970b while police 5d94faaa91 officers snapped ca98400e0c photos of 3df0f8acdd clothes and 48289f83ea underwear scattered a5aac7a980 across the c9f9b6c5bd ground.
There was 8f2f171e1e no time 9daa1318f7 to feel 4e4a2bd273 shame.518e10ab8fcd445d

The TV had 764bbab550 been toppled face d27a32e37e down onto the a318984be2 floor, and the 00625a2a5b bed sheets were 1d47ee61c5 torn to shreds, 47ce03901b a complete mess.
Even the c5610f4f58 gifts for 2a0c558858 the kids 3cca31ddf7 that she 1dfad811ab had stacked 7c0ed77386 neatly in 964010bda1 a corner 1852d7286f were now 45e5d25cac broken and f3e7c413b7 scattered across e2b3492ba4 the floor.11c006c0ee3bec4c

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“What… what on earth…?”614ecaec075aef20

Irim’s voice cracked into a shrill tone as she spoke, her face pale as a sheet.
Jeongbaek, wearing silicone gloves, didn’t even turn to look at her. He glanced lazily down at a pink toy magic wand and an F1 sports car miniature lying on the floor, then answered indifferently:a7c45b2f3feb99ec

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“A neighbor on the night shift saw your front door wide open on their way home this morning and reported it.”29cef64302824969

“…….”cfce48a1c2b151bb

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“There must’ve been a lot of noise when the door lock was being tampered with, but unfortunately, all the homeowners on this side were at work at the time, so no one heard.”bf92232cb7fdd9b8

“C-CCTV footage?”444f4e5da16916c2

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“Other than the shared entrance camera on the first floor, everything else is fake.”60cb7cdd5c3f9c10

Irim’s apartment was on d161c3e6b2 the second floor of 2f6d6df386 a large officetel near 5b81da9fc2 the hospital.
Over 80% of 08a1018526 the residents worked a324ea0b9e at the same 276af08445 hospital.
Since they spent 40762ec47f more time at b71ec55f10 work than at d87f1504c6 home, no one e20522c011 had any clue 61f0d5fe2b what had happened a0a45b789e during the night.c52ca7da0da80ba1

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Even though they weren’t 3e31c73f4e all personally acquainted, it 9e9ae66128 had always felt safe fee03875eb because they were coworkers.
She never imagined 1ca003383b that very trust a139e1c827 would become a 406811b363 trap.
Irim let out bb190dc8b2 a soft sigh.3d0171b33a01dfd8

Meanwhile, Jeongbaek didn’t 326f14ab11 care whether Irim 89f4cdbee8 stood there frozen 61d25054f0 or not.
He conversed casually with a2496a9829 the other forensic officers, 8ba13fa9b9 his indifferent gaze sweeping 993ca4f728 across the apartment.
There wasn’t a trace ff005e8933 of emotion in his fe6dadd2c1 eyes — only the a4770b48ed cold professionalism of someone 5babc47aaf handling yet another case.e1f66f74598e2553

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The man she had 06f9523b4d seen the night before 2152b1c27d seemed like a completely d9dbb4de9c different person under the 80d3ad6eb5 daylight.
Every movement of 6b28642b32 his was sharp, 2288815bab restrained, and professional 16fc8e8404 — nothing like 27a32feb5e the wild, ominous 61ca91e9cd figure flickering through 766d7c8186 the fragmented memories 0ee1f25ca1 of last night.
No, he was ceea730d90 certainly the same 3cb0656612 person — but 49d17c5447 now, he seemed a09cc2872b more tightly reined 54294f3dd3 in.4f3a38960605147f

Suddenly, Jeongbaek f7b84d9047 turned and cb346b1bf3 looked at 5fdddb4df0 her.
Every time he faced 11dcc5ddf1 her, his stern expression ff45d9aa7c melted into a grin, 6ca1434a04 even with a hint cb66aaed09 of mischief.
Instinctively, Irim shrank 4c94062f02 back a little.d411ec00000f0a6f

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Crunch, crunch — f21f1dc3eb he approached until 7854d15f72 he was right fadf35b708 in front of db65da5d33 her and asked:9d64186f31dfcd5b

“Have you noticed anything unusual lately?”14957b3c8cc633c5

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Irim fell 23c1bff239 into thought 19f412133d for a e30d5810b4 moment but 269055fd9b ended up f0071c6229 shaking her d00d5fcded head.
Her life was ae13d21f03 a strict cycle d3e68e1f27 of home, hospital, 89c8fccac8 home, hospital.
Her range of 184880c30e activities was so 1e24cb9f30 limited that nothing 0a90402bf9 came to mind.
There hadn’t been any a5f9c82b82 noticeable changes or odd 0cbed6b582 feelings lately either.67a6cb5427d1f4fd

“No, …nothing in particular.”711f03db91ce8538

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“Has there been anyone — male or female — who showed an unusual amount of interest in you recently?”2befb8fcc31b38f1

“…….”7dc86f39d987e1b6

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“I’m asking in case there’s a possibility of stalking.”c46b2ff1132cfd87

“…Actually, now that you mention it, there was one person.”3935b4d2fa345f76

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Irim ended her 72fa577676 sentence and stared 303676c774 directly at Jeongbaek.
The implication was 058a6920e1 clear:You.3258be2afe6fb791

Jeongbaek smirked, eb216730f5 as if 389a1eb46d finding even 75fc586580 her pointed 19a23e416a reaction amusing.
He leaned in a 14e9bb1b5e little closer, focusing intently a791ea9a59 on her.c1103a0f78af63bd

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“Do you know what that person was up to last night?”8ee466155fb96f19

The insinuation in 2182ce7f9a his soft tone 062fc4f073 made Irim press 5425153c9e her lower lip eae502cdbe tightly together.
What a rotten 7e7611ca13 joke.
Unable to speak, 64a54c4885 her lips merely 31aaa7662e opened and closed 3f01022e5e silently.
Seeing this, Jeongbaek 7566b569e1 casually pulled a 7552abc326 small notebook from d64de0bc91 inside his jacket.d080d3deab7bdec5

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“You should be careful. You never know — he could be a real creep. The world’s a dangerous place these days.”534fd43594785a9f

He began 0c9d8b4f48 scribbling something 868739d401 with a 55353b036d black pen.
It was an 47ed92b371 ordinary-sized leather notebook, 17f885495d but in his f0362411a9 large hand, it 3eaeef8fcb looked almost tiny.657956a32adacc3a

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