Lee Jaehyun went straight to find Kim Junho.
He had already received permission from Team Leader Oh Cheol-jin, so all that remained was to secure Kim Junho’s cooperation.
“Senior, do you have a moment?”
He already knew from the team leader that Kim Junho was free, but still, he had to ask.
He couldn’t just barge in and say, ‘I know you’re not busy, so come with me somewhere.’
It was about being polite and asking for understanding.
When Jaehyun asked, Kim Junho, who had been filling out some paperwork, looked back at him with a grin.
“Huh? What’s up, maknae? I’m not sure about going on a date with a guy, you know.”
He answered with his usual sly smile.
Jaehyun gave a small laugh at his joke and continued.
“I was hoping to go out for a bit, and the team leader told me to go with you.”
“Oh, yeah? I was bored too, so this works out.”
As Jaehyun spoke, Kim Junho, as if he had been waiting, set down his pen and stood up.
He stretched, letting his arms dangle, then turned to Jaehyun and spoke.
“Let’s go.”
“Ah, but… I think I should change into plain clothes first.”
“Plain clothes?”
Kim Junho, who was putting on his jacket, looked at Jaehyun with a puzzled expression.
Moving in plain clothes meant it was a situation where he couldn’t reveal his identity as a police officer.
Not something a rookie patrol officer, who had just gotten his badge, would normally do.
Sensing that Jaehyun’s request was out of the ordinary, Kim Junho furrowed his brow and spoke.
“What’s this about?”
“Just something I want to look into, for personal reasons.”
“Hm… You said you got permission from the team leader, right?”
“Yes, I did.”
Jaehyun nodded and answered confidently.
Kim Junho knit his brows slightly, pondering for a moment, then let out a small chuckle and shrugged his shoulders.
“Alright. If the team leader gave you the go-ahead, there must be a reason. Let’s get changed and head out.”
“Thank you, senior.”
“No need to thank me. I was just wondering if I should wear something tougher underneath in case this turns out to be dangerous.”
For Kim Junho, this was rare—he looked a little uneasy.
He must have been worried.
Jaehyun laughed and said,
“It shouldn’t be anything dangerous.”
“Right? If it was, the team leader wouldn’t just send me off with you…”
“Maybe.”
“Huh?”
Kim Junho blinked at him.
Jaehyun just grinned and turned to head to the car.
Of course, it wasn’t going to be dangerous.
He had already made sure through Se-re-hen that Park Chunbeom and Han Seona weren’t there.
But Kim Junho, flustered, hurried after him.
“Hey, wait! What do you mean, ‘maybe’? Hey, maknae!”
Jaehyun just laughed silently and got into the car.
Click.
Once he’d buckled his seatbelt, Kim Junho climbed into the passenger seat and asked,
“So, where are we actually going?”
“The Senior Citizens’ Center.”
“The Senior Citizens’ Center?”
As Jaehyun started the engine, he answered.
Kim Junho tilted his head and asked again.
Their destination was the Senior Citizens’ Center they had visited the day before.
After all, all the clues come from the scene.
While Park Chunbeom was away, Jaehyun planned to visit the Senior Citizens’ Center to look for evidence.
“Yeah, the other day I took my mother to the hospital. The nurse I saw there apparently volunteers at the Senior Citizens’ Center we’re going to.”
“Oh, I see… But why?”
Jaehyun stepped on the accelerator and began to drive, continuing,
Kim Junho looked at him with a slightly uncomfortable expression.
Jaehyun’s answer wasn’t quite enough to explain everything.
“It just seemed suspicious.”
But Jaehyun only shrugged his shoulders and said that.
He couldn’t exactly say he knew because Se-re-hen had tracked down the guilty party.
All he could do was say he was suspicious and following up.
Hearing this, Kim Junho’s expression turned odd.
“What’s so suspicious? Honestly, you’re the one acting weird right now. Are you just using this as an excuse to go see some girl while on duty?”
“…Senior.”
“Oh, what’s with that voice? Even I could get hit with a tone like that.”
Kim Junho said, eyes wide in playful surprise.
In the end, Jaehyun laughed and shook his head.
He understood why Kim Junho was acting this way.
He was deliberately joking around to lighten the mood and ease the tension.
As Jaehyun laughed, Kim Junho finally lost his teasing smile and continued,
“So, what’s so suspicious? At least tell me the gist of what you’re suspecting so I can help or not.”
“I just have a feeling that someone might be playing the ‘injection lady.’”
Kim Junho put on a somewhat serious expression and asked.
Jaehyun also wiped the smile from his lips as he answered.
After all, Kim Junho needed to know what was going on if he was to look into anything.
Of course, he only mentioned Han Seona.
It was still too early to say that Park Chunbeom might be the murderer, especially since there wasn’t even circumstantial evidence yet…
And if asked how he knew, he’d have nothing to say.
For now, he’d start with Han Seona and follow the trail from there.
“Injection lady? Hmm… Well, okay for now.”
Hearing his answer, Kim Junho tilted his head with a strange look.
He thought Jaehyun would ask more questions.
Surprisingly, he didn’t push further.
Jaehyun glanced at Kim Junho, but his senior was just smiling at him as usual.
But… there was something subtly different from normal.
“Well, that’s a relief.”
He would have been in a pinch if Kim Junho had asked how he figured out Han Seona was the injection lady.
But since he didn’t ask, that was a relief.
Jaehyun turned his gaze forward and focused on driving again…
Before long, the familiar blue slate roof and red brick walls of the Senior Citizens’ Center came into view.
***
Arriving at the Senior Citizens’ Center, Jaehyun greeted the elderly men and women he’d met the day before with a bright smile.
“Hello, I’m back again.”
“Oh my! The young man’s come again?”
Kim Junho seemed surprised at how casually Jaehyun greeted them, blinking his eyes.
He leaned in closer to Jaehyun and whispered quietly,
“You know how to make faces like that?”
“When I need to.”
“Haha… Our maknae is showing a lot of new sides today.”
He chuckled, as if he hadn’t expected this at all.
Meanwhile, the elderly folk who recognized Jaehyun welcomed him with warm smiles.
“You made it sound like you wouldn’t come back for a while, but you’re back already?”
“Yeah, I was passing by and thought I’d stop in.”
“So, have you decided what you’re going to do about moving?”
“I’m still not sure, but I’m thinking about it positively.”
After briefly answering their questions one by one,
The elders soon shifted their gazes to Kim Junho, who was standing beside Jaehyun.
“And who’s this? He doesn’t look like your brother.”
“Oh, he’s just a guy I work out with.”
“Stopped by for a bit after exercising, did you?”
“Nice to meet you, young man.”
Jaehyun covered with a casual lie and introduced Kim Junho.
The elderly folks nodded without much suspicion.
“Ha ha. Nice to meet you. My name’s Kim Junho.”
Kim Junho, always quick-witted, gave his trademark friendly laugh and greeted the elders.
He quickly grasped the situation and played along with Jaehyun’s white lie.
“So, what does this young man do?”
“I just work at a regular broadcasting company.”
“A broadcasting company? Then you must see a lot of celebrities, right?”
“From time to time. Would you like me to bring you some autographs?”
“Oh, really? My grandchild’s been really into Mosik these days. Do you think you could get an autograph?”
“Of course. If it’s possible, I’ll do my best to get one.”
“Hmm, could you get a trot singer’s autograph too…?”
Kim Junho worked his signature charm, laughing and chatting with the elders.
He got along so well with them that Jaehyun barely had a chance to butt in.
Then, naturally, Kim Junho glanced at Jaehyun and continued the conversation.
“By the way, this friend’s grandmother has been saying she feels weak lately. She wants to visit a lively, energetic place. This Senior Citizens’ Center seems perfect. Honestly, you all don’t even look your age.”
“Really? Do we look that young to you?”
“It’s more than just looking a little young—you’re brimming with energy. What’s your secret?”
“Oh, dear, I really shouldn’t say… but since you’re moving in, I guess it’s okay to tell you in advance.”
The elderly lady looked around at the others as she spoke.
The others seemed a bit hesitant, but no one strongly objected.
This was it.
Something they couldn’t easily tell outsiders—a special method.
What stood out was that they couldn’t easily share it with just anyone.
Even considering the closed nature of a neighborhood outsiders rarely visited, it was a little suspicious.
“Oh, come on, tell us. Who knows? If it really works, maybe I could do an interview with the broadcasting company.”
“Really? Would our neighborhood end up on TV and all?”
“Of course. Maybe it could even become famous as a village of longevity.”
“Is that so? Well then…”
The elderly lady cleared her throat and spoke.
Jaehyun’s eyes glimmered as he listened in.
“To be honest, we old folks have a really good Nutrient Solution. We all get injections of it.”
“Nutrient Solution?”
She looked around as if sharing a secret and lowered her voice.
Until then, Kim Junho hadn’t fully believed Jaehyun and was still trying to figure out the situation.
But now that there was solid circumstantial evidence, his eyes sparkled with interest.
Meanwhile, the elderly lady continued,
“There’s a young lady who comes here to volunteer. She’s the one who brings it for us.”
“She gives you this special Nutrient Solution for free?”
They already knew most of this, but—
Kim Junho feigned surprise, eyes wide, as he asked.
The elderly lady shook her head.
“Of course not for free. But it’s much cheaper than at the hospital. Usually at the hospital it’s 150,000 won, and in expensive places, even 200,000 won… But Seona gets it for us at cost, as cheap as possible. 100,000 won. And it really works, too!”
At first, the old lady spoke in hushed tones, but by the end, she was practically bragging, waving her arms with excitement.
In that moment, Jaehyun and Kim Junho looked at each other, their eyes sparkling.
A conversation passed between them without a word.
“We found it.”
They had obtained solid, undeniable testimony.