Chapter 93
Chapter 93
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 93
Chapter Title: Crime Analysis
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Shin Eun-ha pried Yi Bora's fingers off Na Gang-in's hand one by one, then shoved her back toward the ambulance.
"You need to get to the hospital right now. Head injuries are serious—you have to be really careful with them."
"But..."
Detective Park Ki-jeong chimed in with his advice.
"A detective I knew got his head bashed in while chasing down a perp. Thought it was nothing and skipped the hospital... and well..."
Shin Eun-ha jumped in surprise.
"He died?"
"Huh? No. Just ended up with a nasty scar."
"Oh my. Bora, did you hear that? If you don't get it treated quick, you'll get a scar. Right on your forehead. A big one."
The actress Yi Bora, terrified at the thought of a scar, climbed into the ambulance and headed to the hospital.
Shin Eun-ha dusted off her hands with a clap.
"Phew. Finally got her to go. Gang-in oppa, everything's wrapped up now, so let's go grab some ribs. Detective Park, you coming too?"
Park Ki-jeong looked awkward.
"Uh, well..."
Shin Eun-ha waved him off with a grin.
"Come on, it's fine. You think we're trying to bribe you or something? Oh! If you're still worried, just have the rib stew over there. We'll grill the meat and pass it to you."
"That's not it."
Park Ki-jeong pointed to the local cops coming down from the mountain. The kidnappers were being dragged along in handcuffs.
"I still have to interrogate those guys and..."
"Oh, you're busy. Guess we'll have to eat the meat just the two of us then."
She flashed a beaming smile.
"Nice and cozy."
"And the witness statements..."
"Pardon?"
Park Ki-jeong apologized with a sheepish look.
"A popular actress gets kidnapped and rescued—articles are gonna blow up today, you know."
"Huh? Oh, yeah, probably."
"If we don't know the full story, what are we supposed to tell the reporters when they ask?"
"So you're gonna interrogate us too? Wow, talk about betrayal! We did your police work for you, and now we can't even eat?"
Park Ki-jeong quickly made a counteroffer.
"How about I treat you to some killer seolleongtang instead?"
"In the station's interrogation room? Seolleongtang? You don't slurp it up through your nose or anything, right?"
"We'll use the conference room. Spoons provided."
"And I know that seolleongtang place in front of the station? It's in my neighborhood. Everyone knows it went downhill after the owner changed."
"Yeah, it's a shame. Haha."
Na Gang-in spoke to Shin Eun-ha.
"I've got some stuff to talk about at the station anyway. Let's go."
Shin Eun-ha declared,
"Fine, then we'll order sushi delivery to the station. From the best place in the neighborhood!"
Park Ki-jeong clasped his hands together like he was rubbing them eagerly.
"Of course, you should."
Shin Eun-ha turned to Na Gang-in.
"I'll cover the bill today, but I'll make Bora pay me back later. This all happened because we were saving her."
"Obviously. Order the most expensive stuff, lots of it. It's not our money anyway."
The doctor at the local hospital diagnosed Yi Bora's head and ankle injuries as not severe.
She received basic treatment there before being transferred to a general hospital near her parents' home for admission.
The case involved capturing the perps in Pocheon and rescuing the victim. But Yi Bora had been kidnapped and her car abandoned in Namyangju, and the cops who'd been searching for her worked out of Seoul.
With multiple regions involved, more people knew about the incident. Reporters got wind of it fast.
The Yi Bora kidnapping hit the news quickly. It started online, then aired on broadcast TV that evening.
Detective Park Ki-jeong from the station knew the case best. The other local cops didn't have the full picture.
His station quickly issued a statement on the investigation.
Lead detective Park Ki-jeong explained directly to the reporters.
"The perpetrators, after rear-ending the victim's—the famous actress's—car, feared their ongoing scam would be exposed if things escalated, so they kidnapped her intending to murder her..."
After laying out the full situation, Park Ki-jeong asked,
"That's it. Any questions?"
Questions poured in immediately.
"How much time passed from when Yi Bora went missing to her rescue?"
"About four hours."
"How were you able to deploy and rescue her so quickly? Did Yi Bora call it in?"
"The victim's acquaintances noticed something was off and reported it. We took the report seriously and launched an immediate investigation. The acquaintances cooperated fully."
"Who are those acquaintances?"
"Can't disclose personal info."
"If they're Yi Bora's acquaintances, are they celebrities too?"
"No comment."
Park Ki-jeong clammed up, but the reporters' identities of the tipsters leaked soon enough.
Reporters tracked down people who'd been on the Pocheon scene.
"Oh, that lady? That was Shin Eun-ha."
The reporter asked in shock,
"What? Shin Eun-ha was there? You sure?"
"Yep. I loved Sunny Day so much I know her face anywhere. Definitely Shin Eun-ha."
"Whoa... So the acquaintance who called it in was Shin Eun-ha."
Articles popped up right away: Shin Eun-ha Notices Yi Bora in Danger, Reports to Police—Fellow Actress Steps Up.
Yi Bora was hospitalized, so reporters couldn't just barge in for interviews.
Shin Eun-ha ignored all reporter contacts. Even through her agency, they only got refusals.
Detective Park Ki-jeong stayed mum on the tipster too.
Reporters wrote based on the police briefing and eyewitness accounts. Articles ended up pretty similar.
One reporter took a different angle, digging into Yi Bora and Shin Eun-ha's addresses, schools, etc., to speculate on their relationship.
The article hit an internet community board. Comments followed fast.
Yoon A-reum saw the post and asked Cha Eun-seo,
"Didn't Eun-ha unnie say she wasn't close to Yi Bora? But the internet's saying the total opposite. What's the real story?"
"Hmm... Well, back in elementary, they were super tight. Houses were close too. I played with them at the playground sometimes."
"So they are close?"
"They split schools for middle school, but those two were queen bees all through middle and high. Pretty, bubbly personalities—everyone loved 'em."
"Whoa. Jealous."
"But then they started competing over who was the prettiest girl in the whole area?"
Yoon A-reum was impressed.
"Damn, different class. Not just school—aiming for regional dominance."
"Yeah. They fought a lot."
"So not close?"
"Nah, they'd bicker on sight back then, but they never badmouthed each other behind backs. Their dynamic's weird—hard to explain."
Actress Yi Bora had a private room at the hospital. Her mother spoke from beside her.
"I went to Eun-ha's parents' place today to thank them properly."
Yi Bora grumbled,
"You didn't have to go that far."
"If it wasn't for Eun-ha, you'd have been in real trouble. She called the cops and went out searching for you on her own."
"I know. I'd do the same if it was her."
"Sure you would."
"Whose side are you on, Mom?"
"Eun-ha's today. Oh, and she said you'd cover the meal tab when you get out."
"Meal tab?"
"Racked it up on your name. Ate a ton."
"Fine, fine."
Yi Bora held out her hand.
"But Mom, where's my smartphone?"
"Cops took your phone as evidence, so I got you a new one. Only gave the new number to your manager."
"Contacts?"
"All transferred to the new phone."
Yi Bora turned on her new smartphone.
"Mom, you've got stuff to do, right? Go on. I like being alone. Hurry."
After forcing her mother out, Yi Bora scrolled her contacts for Na Gang-in's number, muttering to herself.
"What do I say to Gang-in oppa first? Thanks? Offer to buy him food? Drinks?"
Yi Bora giggled to herself and dialed.
Na Gang-in doesn't pick up unknown numbers.
The line rang endlessly before voice mail kicked in.
An actress kidnapped and rescued? Of course it made headlines.
But she was freed after just a few hours, with no major injuries.
Her agency wasn't thrilled with the attention. They wanted her bright, pretty image intact. They hoped the incident faded fast.
So the agency rejected all interview requests, issuing only a brief statement: Yi Bora is fine.
Yi Bora stayed put in her hospital room too.
No fuel for the fire since insiders stayed silent. The kidnapping story exploded at first, then vanished quickly.
Separate from articles, rumors swirled that the man who saved Yi Bora from the kidnappers was the martial arts director from her drama.
Someone posted on an internet community board, saying they'd heard it from a friend.
Comments rolled in right away.
The joint task force formed after the Jackal mercenary took over that 7-story building in Gangnam.
As they wrapped that up, the Nakgwi Pirates hit. Task force took that too.
Now the Nakgwi case was nearing closure, so meetings were sporadic.
But at one such meeting, a report came in: Na Gang-in caught the Yi Bora kidnappers.
Attendees tensed up.
"Na Gang-in again?"
"Whoa, this guy's unreal."
Grumbles erupted.
"Does this extend the task force again?"
"I'm drowning in my regular work plus this. Haven't been home much."
"Keep this up, I'll get kicked out."
A police exec waved it off.
"Nah, not this time. Just a straight-up attempted kidnapping-murder. Not our jurisdiction."
The task force head sighed in relief.
"Phew. Attempted kidnapping-murder ain't simple, but with Na Gang-in's name on it, it feels trivial. Haha."
The police exec pulled up Park Ki-jeong's report and other station docs on screen.
"Still, figured you'd all wanna see this."
He walked them through the kidnapping—how it unfolded, how it got solved—pointing at the screen.
Details not in the news.
They relaxed at first, hearing it wasn't their case.
But as the briefing went on, reactions shifted. Slouchers sat up. Leaners leaned further.
Screen hit the end, explanation wrapped—room stayed silent.
Task force head broke it.
"So, Na Gang-in scanned public SNS and boards, picked three suspects... in under an hour?"
"Yes."
"Insane."
Another agency exec added,
"And the other two non-kidnapper suspects were mid-crime too?"
"Yes. One imprisoning and beating his girlfriend, the other a panty-thief stalker."
"And Na Gang-in personally nabbed one?"
"The beaten woman said her rescuer didn't give a name before leaving. But her description matches Na Gang-in. Coincidence a martial arts master shows up right then? Obvious."
"What's this guy's deal? Knew he was a close-quarters combat pro, but crime analysis expert too?"
Someone else piled on.
"Pinpointed crimes from public data alone. Top-tier expertise."
"How? Human or computer?"
Task force head asked,
"Pure luck?"
Police exec replied,
"Obviously luck. But he ID'd suspects, so it hit jackpot, right?"
Execs chimed in one by one.
"Wanna scout him for our dept."
"Me too."
"Ditto."