Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Ji-ah is in Danger (2)
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"Here are your ordered dishes. To start, this is a reduction sauce simmered with premium red wine, accompanied by mashed potatoes made with truffle oil..."
A high-end restaurant in the city.
In this place, renowned for its sophisticated ambiance and top-tier culinary skills, Yoon Seol sat listening to the chef's explanation with a slightly hunched posture.
"...Then, enjoy your meal."
Yoon Seol wasn't unfamiliar with fancy restaurants like this.
Her family had always been well-off, and her hero activities had naturally padded her wallet even more.
Taking her manager Ji-yeon out for course meals was one of her hobbies, so the chef's lengthy explanation wasn't what made her uncomfortable.
The reason was something else.
Specifically,
"Seol-ah. How is it? Does the steak suit your taste?"
"Yeah..."
The red-haired woman gracefully slicing into her steak right in front of her—Hero Hwa-young.
'...She's intimidating.'
Originally, Yoon Seol and Hwa-young weren't close enough to sit face-to-face like this for a meal.
If anything, you could call their relationship bad.
More precisely, it was one-sided—Hwa-young constantly needling Yoon Seol.
Then one day,
"Hwa-young? What brings you here..."
A few days ago, Hwa-young had suddenly shown up at Yoon Seol's house.
Her hands full of luxury chocolate sets, she bowed deeply as Yoon Seol approached.
"Y-Yoon Seol. I'm sorry for everything up until now."
*
"Seol-ah. What are you thinking about?"
"...Just. It's amazing."
That we're sitting here face-to-face eating like this now.
"Hehe."
Hwa-young chuckled as if she understood exactly what I meant.
Honestly, it still felt a bit awkward... but it was better than our old prickly relationship.
"Seol-ah. After we finish eating, want to swing by Do-han’s bar?"
"Huh?"
Do-han... you mean the boss?
"It's close by. We could just pop in to say hi."
'Ah.'
Again. My chest feels tight again.
...At this point, even an idiot would know. This isn't a cold.
Whenever I think of the boss, this pressure in my chest can't be a cold.
Could it be... that I like the boss...
'No way.'
Love's supposed to be more romantic. Sweeter. Floaty and light. Like that.
There’s no reason I’d fall for the boss in the first place.
Of course, he listens to my stories, takes my side, he's kind, and thinking about it now, he's kinda handsome too... Huh.
Huh.
"Seol-ah. What's wrong? You were out on a call today—did you get hurt or something?"
"N-No. Just... a bit dizzy."
"Hmm... really? Then maybe we should just eat and call it a day?"
Hwa-young continued in an exaggerated tone.
"Aww, guess I'll have to drop by Do-han’s alone then~."
...Before I knew it, Hwa-young was grinning mischievously at me.
Her eyes sparkling like she was watching some thrilling drama.
"...If that's what Hwa-young wants."
Feeling a surge of irritation, I pushed my stray thoughts aside and replied calmly.
"Hey, I'm kidding. And you were supposed to call me Hwa-young unnie... Oh. Hold on. Call from Do-han."
...The boss?
Are they close enough to talk privately like that?
"Hey, what's up, honey? Calling at this hour?"
But something felt off.
"Uh, yeah. Ji-ah... that part-timer, right?"
Hwa-young's expression was hardening.
The slightly excited tone from when she first picked up was gone, completely devoid of any cheer.
"Got it. Stay there. I'll be right over."
Hwa-young's face remained serious even after hanging up.
She spoke to me in a voice laced with apology.
"Hey, Seol-ah. Something urgent came up—I have to go. Let's split here for today."
With that, Hwa-young hurriedly gathered her things and rushed off somewhere.
"..."
Something must have happened involving the boss.
Before Hwa-young could leave the restaurant, I grabbed her and said firmly.
"I'll come with you."
***
[Yes. If you could provide a detailed description of her appearance, we'll use it for the search. Her name is Lee Ji-ah, correct?]
"Yes. Black hair down to about her waist. Yellow eyes, and she's a head shorter than me... so around the low 160s cm."
[Got it. Black hair... 160 cm... Yes. And what's your relationship to the missing person?]
"...She's my little sister. Please do everything you can."
[Understood. If you have a photo of the missing person, please submit it at your nearest police station.]
"Yes."
Click.
"Hoo."
After finishing the call with Hwa-young, I filed a missing person report with the police just in case... but honestly, I wasn't expecting much.
Back at my old station, we'd get 10 missing person reports a day on slow days, 20-30 on busy ones. Cases like Ji-ah's age were usually treated as runaways.
"...Oppa. I'll take the photo of me and Ji-ah to the station, then head to the mart area to look for her."
"Thanks. Take care."
Min-ah headed out to search for Ji-ah, while I waited in the bar for Hwa-young.
And shortly after.
Ding.
"Honey, you here?"
The door flew open, and Hwa-young strode in.
...Followed by one more person.
"...Hello, boss."
"Yoon Seol?"
How did they end up coming together? My brief confusion aside.
"Hwa-young un...nie told me the situation. One of the kids working at your bar went missing? I'll help out too."
...Looks like Yoon Seol came to assist with the search as well. Great news. More people are always better for a missing person hunt.
Especially if it's a hero like Yoon Seol.
As I thought that, Hwa-young approached me.
"Honey. Come with me for now. I'll explain on the way."
"...Got it."
I forgot to even lock up the bar and hopped straight into Hwa-young's car with her.
.
Vroom—
"Where are we headed, anyway?"
In the car speeding down the road, I cautiously asked Hwa-young.
Yoon Seol answered instead.
"...The police station. Hwa-young un...nie requested CCTV access over the phone before arriving at the bar."
"You can do that?"
Even for heroes, isn't CCTV and missing persons police territory?
My question was quickly cleared up by Hwa-young.
"...I fibbed a little. Said we were tracking a villain and needed cooperation. They usually make exceptions."
"That's going above and beyond..."
Hwa-young said it casually, but it could tarnish her reputation if things went south.
"How could I say no when you sounded so desperate? Gotta do what I can."
"Hwa-young..."
What do I do? She's too cool. Is this what girl crush means?
And honestly, I was touched.
She'd said to call if I needed help, but I hadn't expected this much.
"Thank you. I'll repay this favor someday."
"No worries. I got closer to Seol thanks to you. When this is over, hook me up with a free cocktail."
"As many as you want. Anytime."
As I thanked Hwa-young, my eyes naturally drifted to the quiet Yoon Seol.
"..."
She was gazing silently in my direction.
'Oh right, I haven't thanked her yet.'
Come to think of it, Yoon Seol had come all this way despite her busy schedule.
It'd been a while too—last time was briefly when I helped with her manager stuff.
"Yoon Seol, thank you so much too. Sorry to drag you into this."
I thanked her right away.
"No, no. I shared dessert with her and all, so it feels off... Plus, I owe you one, boss."
"Ahaha..."
I'd thought this before, but Yoon Seol seemed like a really caring person.
The opposite of her cool image in interviews and news.
"Um."
As I reflected on that, Yoon Seol spoke up hesitantly.
"Th-that part-timer... Ji-ah, right? Anyway, her and..."
She trailed off without finishing.
After fidgeting with her lips for a moment, she dropped a somewhat out-of-left-field question.
"Are you, like, living together?"
"Huh?"
Stunned by Yoon Seol's sudden words, I blurted out a response, and she quickly added,
"I-I mean, last time... on the way home, I happened to see you two walking together. Thought maybe you were dating or... It was really just by chance."
...She's got the wrong idea.
"What? Honey, you and that Ji-ah kid are dating?"
Hwa-young jumped into the conversation too.
'What now.'
I considered brushing it off as just a part-timer, but lying to these two who were helping out felt wrong. Plus, it might raise suspicions.
"Well, actually, here's how it happened..."
In the end, I explained how Ji-ah and I first met and how she became a part-timer.
Skipping the sensitive bits, of course.
"Hmm. Honey, I've thought this before, but..."
"Yeah?"
"You're ridiculously nice."
...Should I take that as a compliment? It's not bad, anyway.
I decided to interpret Hwa-young's words positively and glanced at Yoon Seol beside me.
"...So you're not together."
She looked relieved for some reason... Nah, must be seeing things.
Moments later, we arrived at the police station.
"We're here. Let's go."
A middle-aged officer who looked to be in his forties was waiting at the main entrance—probably tipped off by Hwa-young ahead of time.
"Party for Hwa-young? Follow me."
Hoping nothing bad had happened to Ji-ah, I followed him inside.
"Ah. Right this way."
We entered an office labeled [Investigation Support Team] under his guidance.
The officer led us to his desk, then deftly pulled up CCTV footage on the monitor.
"Y-You said you spotted a suspected villain in front of the mart? Lucky the manager hadn't clocked out yet, so we got the footage. Nearby dashcams—we reached the owners, but it's late..."
The officer scratched his head apologetically.
Honestly, this response time so soon after reporting was impressive.
"And, sorry, but... my daughter's a huge Hwa-young fan. Could you sign something?"
...Personal motives after all.
'Still, glad it worked out.'
"Not the time right now—rain check?"
"Ah. Yes. Of course."
Hwa-young deferred the autograph request.
We huddled around the screen.
"Let's watch together. Did she say what time she saw the customer?"
Definitely,
"Between 5 and 6."
"Mm. Hold on. Let's fast-forward from 5."
Click. Click. A few mouse clicks from the officer, and the 5 PM CCTV started playing.
Thankfully, the quality was decent—zoomable enough to make out faces.
"..."
As people bustled across the screen... a familiar silhouette caught my eye.
"Whoa. Hold up. Pause there."
"Yes."
Matching the photo Min-ah sent me this morning exactly.
A black-haired girl carrying a shopping bag with clothes inside.
It was definitely Ji-ah.