Chapter 25: The Thread That Points to the Truth

The dark energy drawn from Se-re-hen enveloped Lee Jaehyun, but he didn’t feel anything in particular.

Lee Jaehyun blinked his eyes open and looked around.

Se-re-hen was staring at him as if she couldn’t believe Lee Jaehyun had closed his eyes so suddenly.

Other than that, nothing else had changed.

The dark energy was still swirling around Lee Jaehyun’s body.

Watching it, Lee Jaehyun let out a hollow laugh.

It didn’t hurt… He wasn’t sure how to describe it, but if anything, it felt like a gentle, warm breeze was softly wrapping around his body.

“What is this…”

He only felt baffled for a moment before the dark energy, having circulated his whole body, started to gather in one place.

Lee Jaehyun watched the gradually clustering dark energy and raised his left hand.

The dark energy clustered softly as if to cover Lee Jaehyun’s left hand, then slowly began to disappear, as though being absorbed.

As the dark energy started to be absorbed into him, Lee Jaehyun lightly shook his hand, but the dark energy continued to seep into his left arm without causing any other changes.

Some time passed like that.

All the dark energy was finally absorbed into Lee Jaehyun’s left hand and vanished.

Then, a single Red Thread of Fate appeared around his pinky finger and tied itself.

“It’s a thread that connects the fate the User most desperately wishes for. Most people call it the Thread of Destiny.”

Only then did Se-re-hen give a peculiar explanation.

Lee Jaehyun frowned slightly as he looked at the Red Thread of Fate wrapped around his pinky.

“The fate I wish for?”

He was momentarily flustered by the sudden appearance of a thread meant to tie him to his destined one, but Lee Jaehyun could vaguely grasp Se-re-hen’s intention.

It was obvious she wasn’t trying to tie him to a romantic partner out of nowhere.

She said she’d help him find evidence, so through this Thread of Destiny, she must be urging him to quickly reveal Park Chunbeom’s crimes.

This was the first time Lee Jaehyun had ever seen such an ability—a power that surely only a Demon could wield—which showed him how eager Se-re-hen was to collect Park Chunbeom’s karma.

“The fate I want right now… is someone who knows anything about the Park Chunbeom Event. Someone with evidence, or a person who witnessed it.”

As he muttered inwardly, the Red Thread of Fate tied around his pinky finger wavered, moving gently and stretching a little.

The thread slowly lengthened, leading directly to a nearby Restaurant.

If I go there, will I meet someone related to the Event?

Lee Jaehyun started walking, following the Red Thread of Fate.

***

Ding.

As he opened the shop door and stepped inside, a small bell chimed.

The savory scent of Mugwort Soup greeted him.

The Owner, who’d been in the kitchen, quickly came out and greeted Lee Jaehyun.

“Welcome! Sit wherever you like.”

Just as the Owner spoke with a smile—

Twitch.

Lee Jaehyun’s pinky finger trembled faintly.

Sensing something strange, he lowered his gaze and looked at his finger.

The Red Thread of Fate tied around his pinky began to move slightly, then started swirling around the Mugwort Soup shop Owner.

So this person must be the connection with the clue to the Park Chunbeom Event.

Feeling a bit of anticipation, Lee Jaehyun presented his Badge and opened his mouth.

“Uh, I’m not here as a Guest. I wanted to ask you about the Accident that happened five years ago.”

“The Accident five years ago? Why are you asking about that?”

The Mugwort Soup shop Owner’s eyes narrowed, and he regarded Lee Jaehyun warily.

Was it because the person he thought was a Guest turned out to be a Police Officer investigating?

It seemed a bit much for simple suspicion.

But with what the Owner said next, Lee Jaehyun could understand the wariness.

“Because of that Event five years ago, the police and Reporters were in and out at all hours. Business was terrible, and people kept saying the place had bad energy, so hardly any Guests came for a long time.”

“Ah…”

The Mugwort Soup shop Owner sighed deeply as he spoke.

Understanding the Owner’s situation, Lee Jaehyun nodded.

Just as a house with a death rumor doesn’t sell well,

If word gets out about an Accident in a town that relies on tourists, it’s obvious that business will suffer.

If the Event gets brought up again, the shop’s sales would drop, so it was natural for the Owner to be wary of Lee Jaehyun poking around.

The Owner continued, not bothering to hide his disgruntled tone.

“Guests only started coming back little by little last year, but if people start saying it’s an unlucky place because of the Accident, it’ll be trouble. Back then, some Police Officer even insisted it wasn’t just an Accident but a deliberate Murder? Caused a big fuss. In the end, they decided it was just an Accident, but now, what are you going to do about it?”

“Sorry. I must’ve been rude.”

“It’s not that big a deal… Since you’ve come all this way, have a bowl of Mugwort Soup before you go.”

As Lee Jaehyun apologized sincerely, the Owner, realizing he had complained needlessly, waved his hand with a slightly embarrassed look.

Though Lee Jaehyun was called a mad dog by his fellow Police Officers and criminals alike,

Even he had times like this—going around to collect evidence in the dark.

If you act tough, who would willingly answer your questions kindly?

Nodding at the Owner’s offer to have a meal before leaving, Lee Jaehyun agreed.

Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t eaten yet. It would be better to ask questions slowly over a meal.

“One bowl, please.”

“Just wait a sec. I’ll make it really good for you.”

As he nodded in response, the Owner’s face brightened, and he quickly rolled up his sleeves and went into the kitchen.

Left alone in the dining area, Lee Jaehyun sat at an empty seat and slowly looked around.

The place the Demon had guaranteed with the Red Thread of Fate was here, and the Owner seemed to be connected, at least to some extent.

He wondered if there might be a clue, but there was nothing special.

It was an Event from five years ago. Even if there had been something, it would have been cleared away long ago.

“Doesn’t seem like he was an Accomplice…”

You couldn’t tell someone’s criminal record just by looking at their face, but the Mugwort Soup shop Owner didn’t seem the type to get involved in Murder.

If he had any real connection, Se-re-hen would have already pointed it out.

“Yeah, that guy doesn’t seem like someone with any special flavor. He doesn’t seem like he lived a bad life.”

As if to confirm this, Se-re-hen answered.

Lee Jaehyun nodded lightly and moved his gaze again.

This time, it was to the TV in one corner of the shop.

He didn’t usually watch TV much, but right now, he had no choice but to look.

A familiar face was on the screen.

— Yesterday, the notorious serial killer Myung Jinhan, who shocked the entire nation, was finally sentenced to Life Imprisonment…

Myung Jinhan.

The news was live-streaming the fact that he had been given Life Imprisonment.

“So in the end, Life Imprisonment, huh.”

Lee Jaehyun closed his eyes, feeling a strange emotion.

The guy who never received a Judge’s sentence in his past life had, this time, properly faced the law’s judgment.

In his previous life, Myung Jinhan took his own life and the case ended with ‘no right of prosecution.’ Lee Jaehyun was probably the only one who knew that this time, the outcome had changed to Life Imprisonment.

No one would acknowledge that he had changed reality, making sure the Judge properly sentenced him.

“Bastards like that, of course they need to be locked up.”

It wasn’t for anyone’s recognition.

He was only doing what he needed to do.

Not that he had a grand sense of duty.

Still, he wanted the world to be a little safer, so his family and friends could go about their lives with a little more peace of mind.

Of course, what burned hotter in Lee Jaehyun was still revenge.

He had caught Myung Jinhan, the one who killed his father.

But there were still those who had blackmailed his mother and demoted Park Daehyung in his previous life.

To catch them, Lee Jaehyun would have to climb even higher.

But first, he had to solve the Park Chunbeom Event in front of him.

Park Chunbeom killed someone and pretended to be an upstanding citizen.

If he missed him here, there might be another Victim.

Even now, he was conning elderly people.

“Would he have committed another Crime even after being sentenced by the law?”

Lee Jaehyun wasn’t sure. But he thought it less likely than if he’d gotten away without the Judge’s sentence.

If you commit a sin, you get punished.

It’s an obvious truth.

But sometimes there are those who don’t properly pay the price.

People who hide their crimes for a lifetime, evading others’ eyes.

The trait of these people is that they learn they can get away without punishment, so they keep committing Crimes.

“I have to catch him before that happens.”

If he just let it go, there’d be another elderly Victim.

He had to catch him before someone else suffered.

As Lee Jaehyun steeled himself once more, the shop Owner approached carrying a bowl of Mugwort Soup.

Following Lee Jaehyun’s gaze to the TV, the Owner scowled and spoke.

“What a damned bastard. Serves him right.”

With a big sigh and a curse, the Owner glanced at Lee Jaehyun.

Then, with a hint of expectation in his eyes, he continued.

“Detective, shouldn’t you be going after scum like that?”

At his question, Lee Jaehyun hesitated for a moment.

Somehow, the situation was turning strange.

Feeling heat rise to his face, Lee Jaehyun spoke.

“I… I’m the one who caught that guy.”

“…Really?”

Apparently, the Owner hadn’t expected that answer. He stared in surprise at Lee Jaehyun.

Lee Jaehyun, feeling awkward at the Owner’s reaction—eyes wide with amazement—nodded.

It was a totally different look from when he’d first said he was investigating the Accident from five years ago.

Lee Jaehyun coughed awkwardly, nodded again, and spoke.

“Yes, murderers must be caught no matter what. And if the Accident five years ago was really a deliberate Murder… then of course I have to catch the culprit, don’t I?”

“…Yeah, you do.”

As he said this, the Mugwort Soup shop Owner’s eyes wavered.

If he pushed a little harder, he might win him over.

Thinking this, Lee Jaehyun was about to continue—

“Dad, I’m home.”

A Student came in through the shop door.

At that moment, a strong vibration traveled through his pinky finger.

Looking down, he saw the Red Thread of Fate tied around his pinky rapidly stretching out toward the Student.

And then, it landed on the pinky finger of the girl’s left hand.

Just like with his own pinky, the Red Thread of Fate now tied itself to the Student’s pinky as well.