A Child Who Resembles Me [EN]: Chapter 125

Waving their clasped hands lightly, Bae Il smiled faintly.

“I see you’ve heard a lot about me.”

“Yes. That you lived next door.”

“Have you ever heard my name too?”

“…I heard your name for the first time today.”

Jiheon answered dryly to Bae Il’s question.

Jeong-oh was a little puzzled because Jiheon’s face was noticeably stiff. It was an even stiffer expression than when they reunited in front of the venue.

The atmosphere flowing between Jiheon and Bae Il was also strange. In Jeong-oh’s eyes, it looked like the two were engaging in a silent battle of nerves, all while maintaining polite facades.

Jeong-oh quickly changed the subject.

“Detective, what brings you here?”

“I was returning from a quick errand. It seemed urgent, so I rushed over. Let’s go in together.”

Jeong-oh, Jiheon, and Yena followed Bae Il into the police station.

Passing through the entrance, Jeong-oh handed Bae Il the photo Yena had taken.

“This is a photo Yena took at the venue today. She was wearing an ivory dress and bumped into my husband. My husband chased after her, but she had already disappeared.”

“Let’s compare Yena’s photo from today with the CCTV footage we’ve already secured.”

The three followed Bae Il past the entrance to the detective division. Compared to the very messy desks of other detectives, Bae Il’s desk was quite neat, befitting his polished image.

“There’s an empty interrogation room; it would be good to look there.”

Bae Il picked up the laptop on his desk and went ahead. Jiheon, Jeong-oh, and Yena followed behind him.

The four compared Yena’s photo with the previous CCTV recordings in the interrogation room. Bae Il paused the CCTV video at the point where the angle was most similar to the photo Yena had newly taken.

“Both are blurry, but the body shape and facial contours are similar,” Bae Il said. “The probability of them being the same person is over 90%. The judgment of the identification program also supports Yena’s claim.”

Jeong-oh, who had Yena sitting on her lap, tightened the arm that held Yena and said, “Yena said she recognized her right away.”

“Yena is smart after all.”

Bae Il smiled as he looked at Yena.

Jiheon silently watched the scene.

“Since there is meaningful evidence, it seems easy to get cooperation with the investigation. I’ll make a request to the organizers of the Baduk [Go] competition.”

Bae Il identified the host company of the Baduk competition and tried to contact them after receiving the contact information of the chief supervisor from Jiheon.

“The competition will be over in an hour. Go with our team’s police officer to check. I have other things to do this afternoon, so I can’t go with you. I’m sorry.”

After finishing the call, Bae Il returned and introduced his junior police officer, apologizing for not being able to accompany them.

Soon, the three, after greeting the police officer in charge of the field investigation, left the police station. Jeong-oh’s complexion improved with the relief that the suspect could be identified, while Jiheon still had a dark expression. Jeong-oh noticed this and asked worriedly.

“Oppa [term used by a younger woman to address an older brother or close male friend], are you okay? Your expression hasn’t been good since earlier.”

“It’s okay. I’m fine.”

Jiheon didn’t elaborate further.

Jeong-oh also immediately looked away from Jiheon and got into the car. Only after taking a breather did she have the space to ask Yena about the Baduk competition.

“Yena, how was the competition? Was it fun?”

“Yes. I won three games in the competition.”

“Three times? Wow! Our Yena did so well!”

“Yes. Actually, I could have won the fourth time, but I didn’t. I really wanted to win.”

The child’s expression quickly crumpled as she answered her mother.

“Our Yena really wanted to win. But you had to stop the game because you found that lady?”

As her mother understood everything, Yena nodded greatly and shed thick tears.

“I wanted to win, but I lost…”

Hwaaa…

Only then did a space to cry open up in her surprised heart.

“Our Yena did something more important than the game. You did so well. There will be other opportunities for the competition later. You’ll do even better then.”

Jeong-oh hugged, comforted, and encouraged the child.

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The two children’s daycare vacation. Also, today is Baduk academy’s vacation, and she can’t play with Yena, and her husband is at work.

Jinseo, who spent time at home with her two children, was constantly out of her mind.

Park Dobin and Park Doyoon. The two children absolutely refused to play the same games and threw tantrums, each trying to monopolize their mother’s attention. If she played with one child, the other child would inevitably cause trouble.

This time, while she was playing a puzzle with her daughter, Dobin, who went into the room, caused an accident.

“Park Dobin, what is this?”

“Heok!” [Gasp]

When his mother called him, Dobin flinched, threw away what he was holding, and ran away.

Why does he cause trouble when he’s going to run away like that? He was an incomprehensible child.

This time, the child’s deed was sprinkling white powder on the roof and yard of his younger sibling’s dollhouse. It was as if snow had fallen on the roof. Jinseo remembered watching the movie ‘The Snow Queen’ with the children yesterday and smiled weakly.

A medicine bottle that Dobin had thrown was rolling on the floor. A bottle of powder medicine to be sprinkled on wounds. It was evidence of the crime.

“Park Dobin, come here. Come and talk to Mom.”

“Won’t you hit me?”

“No.”

“Will you forgive me?”

“Yes.”

It takes strength to scold a child.

Dobin, who was sure that his mother would not scold him, approached.

“Why did you sprinkle this here?”

“I wanted to express a snow-covered house.”

He wanted to express a snow-covered house, but since his mother wouldn’t let him go to the kitchen, he took a medicine bottle from the medicine box and sprinkled the powder.

“In the future, you have to talk to Mom first when you do things like this. Got it?”

“Yes. If I talk to you first, will you let me do it?”

“We’ll see.”

Jinseo smiled. She didn’t scold him anymore because she admired the child’s free imagination of wanting to express a snow-covered house.

Maybe the child has artistic talent. Should I look into art academies…

However, the sweet dream of a kind and loving mother did not last long.

Jinseo’s face turned blue after she shook off the powder medicine piled up in the dollhouse, wiped it with water, and rearranged it before returning to the children.

“Baaak Doooobiiiin!”

The windows in the whole house shook at Jinseo’s angry voice.

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Jiheon, Jeong-oh, and Yena met the police again in front of the Baduk competition venue and went inside. The competition was already nearing the final match.

Since the competition was not over yet, Yena watched the game deciding 1st and 2nd place on the screen in the audience seats. Jeong-oh was next to her with Yena, and Jiheon and the police walked around, looking around the venue.

When the child who took the black stones won after a close match, Yena clapped her hands without realizing it. Before she knew it, the child had forgotten her regret of losing the game and watched the game with a pure heart. Jeong-oh stroked Yena’s face.

Soon after the awards ceremony, the four were able to enter the main hall. While everyone was busy cleaning up, they gave their attention to the man in the police uniform. Jiheon guided him to the chief supervisor.

“Hello. I’m from the Gwangjin Police Station.”

“Ah, yes. I received your call. Hello.”

The supervisor answered politely as the police officer greeted him. The person he had kicked out a few hours ago had appeared with the police, so he had no choice but to actively cooperate with the investigation.

“We are looking for this person. She was a supervisor today. Does anyone know her?”

Along with the question, the police officer showed the photo Yena had taken. At the police officer’s question, the chief supervisor narrowed his eyes and stared at the woman’s appearance for a while before calling someone else.

“Ah, this person.”

Another supervisor also looked at the photo with the same expression and raised his voice.

“I remember she came from an amateur Baduk association referral for a part-time job.”

The supervisor checked the list, handing over the data he was holding.

“It says Pyo Jiae. But… her attendance has been confirmed, but the closing confirmation hasn’t been done yet. Then she won’t get paid.”

“Can we know where this person is now?”

At the police officer’s continued question, the supervisor picked up his cell phone and called the phone number next to the name ‘Pyo Jiae.’ But after a while, the supervisor shook his head.

“She’s not answering the phone… Her home address is written here.”

Although they couldn’t reach her right away, it was fortunate that they could confirm her identity. The four secured Pyo Jiae’s home address and contact information and left the venue.

Since the suspect’s identity had been identified, there was no need for Yena to continue to be there. Jeong-oh took Yena and left for home, and only Jiheon remained to accompany the police.

The suspect’s home was on the 3rd floor of a villa in a residential area of Cheonho-dong. As he got out of the car and looked up at the villa, trying to guess where the suspect’s house was, he saw the window on the 3rd floor that had been open closing.

“I think it’s that house.”

The police officer nodded at Jiheon’s opinion. Just as the two who went up to the 3rd floor were about to ring the doorbell, the front door burst open.

But after confirming that someone was standing in front of the door, the woman immediately tried to close the door. In the meantime, the police quickly intervened.

“Police. Are you Pyo Jiae?”

“What is it? Wh, what’s going on?”

The woman asked in a flustered voice. Jiheon checked the woman’s face from behind the police officer. It was definitely the woman in Yena’s photo. Behind Pyo Jiae, there was a large travel bag. It looked like she was about to leave on a trip in a hurry.

“I’d like to ask you something. Did you happen to pass by the academy district in Hwayang-dong on May 13th?”

“May 13th? It was over two months ago; how can I remember something like that.”

The police officer showed the woman a video capture screen.

“Isn’t the person in the picture perhaps you?”

“Oh my, it’s not me. I don’t wear these kinds of clothes. I don’t have this kind of hat either. And who is this kid next to me? I don’t even know this kid.”

It was as if she had prepared her response. Pyo Jiae, who vehemently denied it, paused for a moment, rolled her eyes as if lost in thought, and asked the police officer.

“Wait a minute. Did you say May 13th?”

“Yes. May 13th.”

“Then I can tell you. May 13th was my friend’s birthday, so I went to Yeosu to meet my friend. I arrived around 6 PM.”

Pyo Jiae took out her cell phone and showed her SNS [Social Networking Service] account photo. May 13th, 6:50 PM. Jiheon’s brow furrowed at the letters with the exact upload date.

“You can see the date and time in the photo, right? There’s also a location tag.”

It was a solo photo taken in front of a famous sculpture in Yeosu.

From Seoul to Yeosu. It takes more than two and a half hours even by high-speed train. Moreover, considering the distance from Hwayang-dong to the station and the distance from Yeosu Station to the place where Pyo Jiae took the photo, she could not have been the perpetrator of the incident.

If she were the culprit, she could not have been in Yeosu at 6:50 PM on May 13th.

But Jiheon couldn’t immediately trust Pyo Jiae’s words. Pyo Jiae made a loud noise as if she was wronged, but she was shaking slightly, and her eyes were also unstable.

Above all, he saw the actions, tone, and eyes of Chae Eunbi when she was lying and denying it. Pyo Jiae seemed to be hiding something.

Jiheon looked at the bag behind Pyo Jiae and said, “It looks like you’re about to go somewhere.”

“Yes. A trip.”

“You’re going on a trip after working part-time as a Baduk competition supervisor?”

“Can’t I? I originally had a trip planned!”

Right. That could be the case.

Jiheon, who nodded, turned his head and took another look at the photo the woman had shown him.

After staring at it for a while, Jiheon asked again.

“Is this really a photo from May 13th?”

All the stores in the photo had their lights on, while only one at the very end, the pharmacy, had its lights off. May 13th is a Thursday. What is the probability that such a large pharmacy would be closed at 6:50 PM on a Thursday?

“The lights are on in the other stores, but the lights are off in the pharmacy. Pharmacies close on Sundays.”

The police officer nodded as if he had just discovered it after Jiheon pointed it out.

“…That pharmacy must have happened to be closed that day! Or maybe they just left their seats for a while!”

Pyo Jiae denied it with a very flustered expression. Jiheon was even more convinced that the woman was hiding something after confirming that reaction.

“Can I ask the name of that friend who lives in Yeosu and whose birthday is on May 13th?”

Pyo Jiae curled her parched lower lip at Jiheon’s calm pressure. He could also see cold sweat forming on her forehead.

“I just need you to answer, why can’t you say anything?”

“No, why are you cornering me like that!”

Eventually, she burst into tears.