“I don’t think so.”
The person who answered Son Yowan’s muttering wasn’t the Director but the Magician.
The moment he heard those words, Son Yowan’s eyes shook rapidly, then returned to normal the next moment. But looking closely, unlike usual, he was rolling his eyeballs desperately looking to the side instead of ahead.
‘Ugh. I don’t have the confidence to talk with that noona.’
In fact, he was in a very tense state. He’d deliberately tried to avoid direct conversation with the Magician by putting the Director in between, but without any benefit from that, it had turned out like this.
“I think this is murder using the Goeidam as a shield!”
Son Yowan desperately hoped the ‘real detective’ would answer the Magician who was proclaiming brightly with more detective-like momentum than the detective role, but there was no reaction at all from behind.
So he had no choice but to break out in a cold sweat and open his mouth directly.
“Th-that, noona. For what reason do you show such an esteemed opinion?”
…Damn it, my word choice automatically becomes polite. Indeed, fear carved into the bones was powerful. Even though the other person wasn’t even his own older sister, just because her age range and impression were similar, a person automatically became like this.
The Magician also frowned, perhaps finding Son Yowan’s way of speaking strange. Seeing that, Son Yowan, whose trauma was stimulated again (when his older sister did that, the next moment his shin would always get kicked!), hurriedly spat out the next words.
“We heard it too.”
“You mean… that thing on the radio?”
“Yep.”
“…”
The Magician frowned even more and Son Yowan became even more restless.
Fortunately, before Son Yowan, dominated by fear, could babble nonsense, the Magician spoke first.
“That. That’s… bullshit.”
“Pardon?”
“What the voice on the radio was saying, it’s just bullshit.”
“Then the story on the radio is all?”
“Not true, of course! Who on earth, who could think such wicked thoughts? Who cut off whose ankle? Who stole whose life? Really, who with what ulterior motive tried to drag great-aunt’s reput… honor down to the ground like that…!”
As if getting angry, the Magician’s voice became increasingly unstable. Though not talkative, the Magician had always spoken clearly and brightly, but now was occasionally stuttering and even cutting off mid-sentence.
“Not satisfied with that, they even cut the ankle like this! Truly wicked! If they do this, naturally other people will think everything said on the radio was true, that she got what she deserved for what she did, right? That’s what the culprit was aiming for!”
The emotionally agitated Magician, unable to just be angry, started sobbing later.
“What should I do? Poor person. Not just the eyes, now unable to even walk like this, and now even consciousness…”
Throughout dealing with the Magician, Son Yowan, who had been creaking like a broken wooden doll, took advantage of the moment when the Magician buried their face in their knees and sobbed to quickly go stick to the Director and whisper.
“Then the Assistant noona didn’t pass away, right?”
He’d definitely spoken in a voice only barely audible to the Director, but somehow hearing it, the Magician jerked up their head and glared at him, making Son Yowan freeze with a start.
“What on earth do you mean by that just now?”
“N-no, don’t misunderstand!”
“Don’t tell me! Did you hope great-aunt would die? Or are you asking why she didn’t die? How can you say such things?”
“Hyu-hyungnim? Director hyungnim? Please help me!”
“Or! Could it be? Did you do something? Come to think of it, last time you said so yourself, that you might be related to the Goeidam!”
“Ugh, no! That was!”
“What do you mean no, what’s not!”
“Oh my, please calm down!”
“Don’t stop me, Director-nim! Actually, I’ve been thinking since I heard Captain So say there might be a culprit here who deliberately caused the Goeidam! There’s definitely a villain trying to harm people and gain some benefit using the Goeidam as a shield! Come to think of it, you were particularly fawning over great-aunt even before things happened, right? Don’t tell me you coaxed great-aunt to get something? What did you get promised? Did you also promise to receive something after great-aunt’s death…!”
“Fawning!”
Son Yowan felt wronged. It was true he’d fawned all over the place to build connections, but he hadn’t only done that to the Assistant!
‘I fawned over everyone except that noona who’s similar in age to my older sister!’
Even now, he was currently fawning over the Detective with all his might for the dream of life extension, but being suddenly grabbed by the collar by a released fish granddaughter was wrongful enough to die.
“I’ve disliked you from the start! You vulgar ma…”
“Were you the first discoverer?”
Just before the hot-headed Magician could spew an insult that shouldn’t be said, a weary mutter suddenly popped out from over the Magician’s shoulder.
“Ah.”
Son Yowan looked at the Magician’s face, which had no color to begin with, turn dramatically pale and thought:
‘He really is like a ghost, that guy…’
The Detective, who had been right behind Son Yowan earlier, was at some point behind the Magician—that is, near the Magician and the victim. Seeing the Magician startle only after hearing his question, it was clear that person also hadn’t noticed the Detective’s movement at all, just like Son Yowan.
“Hic!”
The Magician was so startled they began hiccupping.
“When, hic! Did you, hic!”
Without bothering to push away the flustered Magician waving their hands, the Detective straightened their bent waist from looking at the floor where the victim had been lying and glanced around once.
“Is this person the first discoverer?”
Then threw the question to the other VIP guests.
‘Huh?’
Son Yowan momentarily felt puzzled. Because when the Detective asked a question, no answer immediately came back from the VIP guests.
‘Even if I don’t know about that old man Teacher, the other people could answer, so why?’
A moment later, as usual, this time too the Director, who had some semblance of social skills among the VIP guests, raised a hand and came forward.
“Um, well. There’s no one you could really call the first discoverer, Captain.”
“How so?”
“Haha…”
“Did everyone perhaps arrive here almost simultaneously?”
“The Magician and I were a bit faster, but even so, it’s only a few minutes’ difference from the others. We came out as soon as we heard the broadcast…”
“Does that mean you all conspired together to harm that person?”
The Director, who had been trying to gloss over it roughly, was left speechless by the Detective’s sudden question, and the Teacher, who had been holding back admirably until now, exploded.
“This rude bastard, I’ve been listening and listening but there’s nothing you won’t say!”
Though his behavior, seemingly having anger management issues, was similar to before, this time there was something different from before.
“The Teacher speaks correctly.”
Someone else also agreed with his anger.
Son Yowan inwardly tilted his head. The puzzlement he’d felt earlier when people didn’t immediately answer the Detective’s question grew stronger.
‘Clearly until last time there were few people agreeing with that old man, but it turns out like this?’
“For the Godfather’s sake, I’ll only tolerate this much!”
The person who stepped forward pointing fingers was the Musician, but even VIP guests who didn’t bother stepping forward to argue—that is, VIP guests like the General standing in the rear with hands clasped behind—seemed to have a different atmosphere toward the Detective than last time.
“Not satisfied with falsely accusing us innocent people as ‘Godam Transgressors’ and confining us here, you even insult us saying we all conspired to harm a colleague. This absolutely cannot be laughed off!”
While Son Yowan was putting all his strength into clinging to the Detective for the dream of life extension, it seemed information he didn’t know had been exchanged among the other VIP guests.
‘What on earth is it?’
He couldn’t even guess. Son Yowan resolved to call the actor to a secluded place later and ask what it was.
Meanwhile, the Musician’s threats continued.
“Let me make this clear. Captain, you never had the qualification to detain us in the first place. So any further rudeness, I will absolutely not tolerate…”
“No location was mentioned in the radio broadcast.”
But at some point, the Detective, who had only been listening to the other person’s words, opened his mouth.
“Therefore, since everyone heard the broadcast at similar times, the excuse that you all came to this place simultaneously makes no sense to anyone. Even if I say that everyone except the victim conspired to broadcast and harmed the victim at this location, that’s not rudeness or speculation but merely normal reasoning…”
“Captain So! Can’t you grasp the situation? Everyone knows now!”
“Or, everyone conspired to escape through the waterway surrounding the wall, breaking the Soyo alert.”
“Everyone heard that you’re not a dignified ‘Captain’ or the Godfather’s ‘closest confidant’ or any such thing, but merely the vigilante corps’ lowly dog and servant…!”
The Musician, who had been shouting imposingly, froze for a moment.
“Ah… The latter reasoning is correct?”
It wasn’t the Detective, but.
