Lee Jaehyun kept a close watch on the playground, tense, until Choi Daehyun finished playing and headed home.
Even after that, he kept observing for a long while, but there was still no sign of Park Yech’an.
The same was true for the alley Se-re-hen was watching.
“At this rate, wouldn’t it be better to follow Choi Daehyun around rather than wait for Park Yech’an?”
That thought flashed through his mind for a moment, but Lee Jaehyun soon shook his head.
If he started tailing Choi Daehyun, Park Yech’an, feeling wary, could change his target.
If that happened, the location of the Child Kidnapping Case itself could shift.
And then, Lee Jaehyun wouldn’t be able to prevent the Event at all.
“No matter how much I think about it, patrolling this area is the best option.”
Besides, following Choi Daehyun would be a burden in itself……
He could end up being mistaken for a suspicious person instead.
After all, it wasn’t that long ago he’d been mistaken for acting suspicious and had the Police Officer called on him.
“…Guess I’ll have to endure this for a while.”
As soon as Lee Jaehyun let his guard down, a wave of fatigue crashed over him, and he pressed his temples with his thumb, muttering to himself.
Though it was another tough situation, Lee Jaehyun didn’t give up.
He eventually found the suspected kidnapping site on Monday as well.
This time, Se-re-hen went to the playground, and Lee Jaehyun came to the alley.
3 p.m.
It was almost time for the kids to finish school and head to the Academy.
The alley was still quiet.
Just a handful of ladies carrying shopping bags, or a few people walking their dogs—that was it.
Even after sitting there for about an hour, the number of passersby was few enough to count on both hands.
Lee Jaehyun, being only human, kept his nerves taut as he waited for Park Yech’an to appear.
But after several days of not sleeping properly, it was inevitable that his body started to sag.
He struggled to gather up the slackening tension in his body, ran a hand over his face, and exhaled.
Tak.
Tak.
Tak.
He heard footsteps approaching from the far end of the alley.
Lee Jaehyun cautiously turned his head to look down the alley. The person walking over greeted him with a friendly wave.
“Young man. We meet again?”
“Hello, ma’am.”
The Grandmother he’d met last time, when he went out for that cat-related report.
He’d run into her just yesterday as well, so Lee Jaehyun bowed his head in greeting with practiced ease.
“Last time and now, you’re a Police Officer but you’re not wearing your uniform?”
“Ah, yes. Today’s my day off.”
He answered the Grandmother’s question as she slowly approached, nodding as he replied.
The Grandmother said, “Is that so?” and then plopped down right next to Lee Jaehyun.
“It’s your day off, but you don’t look like you’re resting at all, do you?”
“I think someone’s been bothering the cats, so even on my day off, I can’t really relax.”
“Oh dear. Still, people have to rest when it’s time to rest.”
“Haha.”
The Grandmother nagged him.
Her light scolding made Lee Jaehyun laugh awkwardly.
It was true you should rest when it’s time to rest, but right now just wasn’t the time for that.
How could he rest before catching Park Yech’an?
At his reaction, the Grandmother sighed with worry as she looked back at Lee Jaehyun.
“You haven’t slept again today, have you?”
“Ah, yes. I think it’s insomnia.”
“That won’t do. No, that won’t do at all. I was going to have this myself, but I’ll give you a cup.”
So saying, the Grandmother took out a boil flask from her small bag.
Lee Jaehyun glanced curiously at the flask and spoke.
“What’s that?”
“Ginger tea. Just one cup will help you relax, soothe your mind, make it easier to sleep, and even relieve your tension.”
The Grandmother opened the lid of the boil flask as she spoke.
Kkirik.
As soon as she opened it, the scent of ginger made Lee Jaehyun shake his head.
There was a sweet, honeyed aroma too, so it didn’t seem like it would taste bad… but he hadn’t planned to drink what the Grandmother had brought for herself.
Besides, he wasn’t planning on relaxing at a time like this.
“I’m all right. You should have it, ma’am.”
“No, I already had some earlier.”
Lee Jaehyun refused, but the Grandmother smiled as if it was fine and poured some ginger tea from the boil flask.
“You really don’t have to go to all this trouble for me…”
“If an elder offers you something, you should just say thank you and accept it.”
With those words, the Grandmother handed Lee Jaehyun the cup of ginger tea.
In the end, Lee Jaehyun accepted it, bowing his head in thanks.
“Thank you. I’ll drink it well.”
After giving his thanks, he raised the cup to take a sip of the ginger tea.
But then, a thought flashed through his mind.
She’d been there when the cat was lying collapsed, at the mart parking lot, and even here now……
All the places the Grandmother walked for her strolls overlapped with the locations suspected to be where Park Yech’an had committed his crimes.
Maybe, she’d seen Park Yech’an in action where Lee Jaehyun had missed him.
As that thought occurred to him, Lee Jaehyun lowered the ginger tea he was about to drink and turned to look at the Grandmother.
“Ma’am.”
“Hmm?”
The Grandmother, who’d been watching the ginger tea in Lee Jaehyun’s hand, looked up and met his eyes.
Lee Jaehyun glanced at the ginger tea she’d been looking at, but asked the Grandmother his question first.
“Do you often walk around here?”
“Well, what else is there for someone my age to do? There’s nothing to do at home, and if I want to stay alive, I need to walk around for exercise.”
At her words, Lee Jaehyun paused for a moment, then gave an awkward smile.
He never knew how to respond when elderly people mentioned ‘death’.
Shrugging his shoulders, he spoke.
“You seem quite healthy, though?”
“I manage to live like this because I walk around a lot.”
Indeed, the Grandmother did look pretty spry.
She looked old, sure, but she didn’t seem frail when she walked.
At the very least, she didn’t appear to have any health problems.
Hearing her say she was only able to live like this, Lee Jaehyun let out another awkward laugh.
“Haha. Then, Grandmother, have you seen anyone suspicious around here recently?”
“Because of the cats?”
“Yes.”
Lee Jaehyun nodded obediently at her question.
He didn’t know which paths she took or how much she walked in a day.
But her routes overlapped with all the places where the child killer Park Yech’an was suspected to have acted.
She might have seen Park Yech’an while walking around.
But crushing Lee Jaehyun’s faint hope, the Grandmother shook her head firmly.
“I do keep an eye out for sleeping cats whenever I come out for a stroll, but I haven’t really seen anything.”
“I see… Well, has anyone unfamiliar been wandering the neighborhood? Nothing like that?”
He asked again.
The Grandmother looked at him with a strange expression and opened her mouth.
“I suppose… not really?”
“Really? Do you remember what they looked like, if you did…”
As Lee Jaehyun leaned in eagerly, she suddenly let out a quiet laugh.
The Grandmother chuckled at his urgent appearance.
She raised her hand and pointed at Lee Jaehyun.
“I never used to see you much, but these days I run into you all the time.”
“Ah… No, I meant besides me, has there been anyone else?”
“There really hasn’t been. Do you like cats? You sure care a lot about them.”
She looked into Lee Jaehyun’s eyes as she spoke.
He paused for a moment, then nodded.
She saw how much he cared, so she assumed he must like cats.
When the Grandmother said that, Lee Jaehyun couldn’t help but think of Choi Daehyun, whom he’d seen at the playground last time.
Right now, what he was really worried about wasn’t the cats, but the eleven-year-old child, Choi Daehyun, who should be living a happy life.
Letting out a breath, Lee Jaehyun spoke.
“Yes, well… they’re lovely, aren’t they.”
At his sincere words, the Grandmother gave a disinterested nod and pointed to the ginger tea in his hand.
“They are cute. Sometimes they’re a bit noisy, but still. Anyway, finish that quickly and hand it over. My son’s coming soon, so I need to head back.”
“Ah… thank you.”
At her words about her son coming soon, Lee Jaehyun drained the ginger tea in one go.
Huurip.
The warmth of the ginger tea spread through his body, and for a moment, he felt his tension melt away.
The Grandmother grinned as soon as he finished the drink.
“You didn’t have to rush so much. Drink slower.”
“Yes, Grandmother. Thank you.”
“Sure.”
She closed the lid of the boil flask, packed it back in her bag, and waved her hand.
With no hesitation, she rose from the bench and walked away.
Left alone, Lee Jaehyun leaned back on the bench and waited for Park Yech’an.
How long did he wait like that?
Was it just that he hadn’t slept in days?
Or was the ginger tea the Grandmother gave him really that effective?
Sleepiness began to creep up on him.
Lee Jaehyun felt his eyelids growing heavy and furrowed his brow.
He knew it was only natural to feel tired, but for drowsiness to hit him this hard even while he was so tense was strange.
“If it’s just because I suddenly relaxed, that’d be understandable…”
But right now, it was impossible for him to relax.
It felt unnatural.
As he mulled it over—
The ginger scent lingering in his mouth made him suddenly recall the Grandmother’s earlier words.
Ginger tea. Just one cup will help you relax, soothe your mind, make it easier to sleep, and even relieve your tension.
Why did those words suddenly come to mind now?
A warning bell sounded in his head.
The Grandmother who was there for the cat report.
Her walking route overlapping with the suspected crime scenes.
Even the fact that if Park Yech’an had really committed the abduction, he should have shown up on the CCTV, yet never appeared at all.
His mind began to race.
What if, in his previous life, the Child Kidnapping Case hadn’t been Park Yech’an’s crime alone?
“Ah… damn.”
As he reached that thought, Lee Jaehyun felt his body go limp and finally closed his eyes.
Drowsiness crashed down on him; he couldn’t fight it anymore.
The only thing he barely managed to do—
“Se-re-hen…”
—was call out for Se-re-hen in his heart.
And with that, he lost consciousness.