The Note — Kang Daehyuk Detective Agency
"P-Please, spare me..."
Naked, Do Hajun fell to his knees and slammed his head against the floor, begging. It was quite a hilarious sight to see a fully grown, middle-aged man reduced to such a pathetic state. It was equally disgusting. Jeon Sihyun adjusted his grip on his dagger, looking down at him.
"I hear you like bringing women here to play?"
"T-That's..."
"Did you buy them all with money?"
"...S-So what if I did?!"
"Ah, I see you thought I was an easy target."
Jeon Sihyun pulled his black mask back on. Instantly, his voice was modulated. It was a replica of the mask worn by the 'Black Mask', reverse-engineered using his company's technology. He quite liked it.
"You see, I absolutely despise people who try to act cute with me."
He toyed with the dagger, turning it over in his hand. Crafted with Samhyun Group's technology, it had a remarkably sleek design.
"And you, Do Hajun, have been acting very, very cute."
"Ugh, ugh..."
"Now, Do Hajun. It's about time you started howling like a beast."
Sihyun plunged a syringe into the neck of the helpless man. At the same time, he injected the two women. He immediately placed a few kitchen knives from the counter into their hands.
Leaving the trembling women behind, he looked back at Do Hajun and smiled brightly.
"It's a cocktail of a highly potent stimulant—Euphrax, and an aggression-enhancing drug—Ares-X."
"...Y-You don't mean..."
"Yes. Now, I'll leave you with these parting words."
Preparing to escape through the window using a pre-rigged rope, Sihyun offered a cheerful grin.
"Now, kill each other."
Sihyun vanished.
The drugs took effect.
"Aaaagh!"
The two women and Do Hajun began to brutally beat and slash at one another.
Two days later, in the morning.
"Yaaawn..."
Detective Kang Daehyuk of the Kang Daehyuk Detective Agency arrived at the crime scene. He listened to the briefing from the police officers.
After hearing everything, Daehyuk slowly summarized the situation.
"So, you're saying a brutal, mutual stabbing frenzy took place here?"
"Yes... We were hoping you could deduce the truth behind this case, Detective."
It had been quite some time since the detective profession was officially recognized in South Korea, and thousands of detectives were now investigating the numerous homicides occurring across the country. Kang Daehyuk was one of them, and a famous one at that—famous enough to be assigned to a high-profile case involving the murder of a corporate chairman.
"Let's see... What kind of case do we have here..."
He examined the scene alongside his assistant, Han Heejin.
Heejin spoke up. "They really went to town on each other with those knives. The bodies are completely mangled."
"Have the two women been identified...?"
Just then, an officer approached and handed over a file.
"It seems they were employees of an escort service. One of them was apparently involved in overseas prostitution until just a few days ago. We obtained this information by commissioning another detective."
"I see..."
Daehyuk let out a massive yawn.
Heejin scolded him. "Daehyuk! Honestly, yawning at a murder scene?"
"Haha, sorry, sorry. I didn't sleep well last night."
For some reason, he had been plagued by nightmares.
The officers chuckled.
"As expected, the detective is quite eccentric."
"I suppose all geniuses are like that."
"Oh, no, it's nothing like that..."
Daehyuk focused back on the murder. Seeing him lock in, Heejin smiled.
"Indeed... Let's take a quick look around first."
He scanned the surroundings. There were clear signs of knives being pulled from the kitchen.
"The two women were likely... forced into an unwanted relationship. That much is clear."
"Ooh... I see!"
"Well, having to sleep with a man that ugly... Even as a woman, I'd find it impossible."
"So, to resist Do Hajun's attempt to rape them, they got into a physical struggle..."
"Ohh...!"
"In that chaotic struggle, Do Hajun pulled out a knife to threaten them, and the two women grabbed knives to fight back... and in that state..."
Daehyuk wiped a tear from his eye as he continued.
"In the end... they inflicted fatal wounds on one another, resulting in this tragedy...!"
"Sniff...!"
The police officers, deeply moved by his dramatic storytelling, began to sniffle. Heejin's eyes welled up with tears as well.
"Those poor women...!"
"Still, we must let them rest in peace. Let's make sure their identities aren't leaked to the news..."
"Yes, Detective...!"
Daehyuk smiled warmly, wrapping up his thoughts.
"Therefore, it seems there was no outside culprit. Now that the case is wrapped up, we'll take our leave."
"Yes! We'll make sure you're handsomely compensated!"
Daehyuk and Heejin left the scene. They walked back, chatting and smiling at each other.
"I'm glad, though."
"About what, Daehyuk?"
"I was a bit worried that the Black Mask had struck again. But looking at the crime scene, it didn't seem like his handiwork."
"...Still, we shouldn't let our guard down."
"Why?"
"...I don't know, I just have a bad feeling."
Seeing Heejin's worried expression, Daehyuk smiled gently.
Without fail.
Once he caught the Black Mask, Daehyuk planned to confess his feelings to Heejin...
I will catch him, no matter what.
Completely unaware that their absurd deduction had completely fabricated the narrative of the tragedy, they returned to the detective agency and threw a pizza party, rejoicing over their newly fattened bank account.
Detective Kang Daehyuk Solves Case with Ease!
It has been reported that Do Hajun attempted to assault two unidentified women, resulting in a fatal knife fight where all three tragically lost their lives. Thanks to Detective Kang Daehyuk, the case has been completely resolved...
"Are they actual retards?"
Sihyun had secretly worried that he might get caught, but it seemed his fears were entirely unfounded.
He let out a sigh and turned to Go Seah.
"I'm glad Kang Daehyuk is an even bigger idiot than I imagined."
At the same time, this meant that Jeon Sihyun, not Kang Daehyuk, would have to be the one to catch the Black Mask.
So, I suppose I can torment him a little more as punishment.
Sihyun smirked.
That night.
The Kang Daehyuk Detective Agency was dark and silent. Or rather, only a single sound broke the quiet.
"Zzz... Snort..."
The detective, Kang Daehyuk, was fast asleep on the sofa with a slice of pizza still hanging from his mouth.
Watching him from a plush office chair, Heejin let out a tender smile.
He was so endearing. Whether he was sleeping, awake, or completely absorbed in his detective work.
Heejin truly loved Daehyuk. More than anyone else, so, so much.
She loved him so much it drove her crazy.
Once we catch the Black Mask and this is all over, I'm definitely going to confess to him.
With that resolve, she was about to close her eyes and try to get some sleep herself when—
Thud.
She heard something drop.
The sound of a piece of paper slipping through the mail slot of the door.
She crept toward the source of the noise.
Tiptoe, tiptoe.
There was no one outside the door.
Having been kidnapped by the Black Mask in the past, she gripped her taser tightly as she slowly approached the fallen paper.
She nudged it with her foot.
"At least... it's not a bomb."
Muttering to herself, she picked up the paper.
She slowly unfolded the creased note and looked around.
"Zzz... Snort..."
Only the sound of Daehyuk's heavy snoring echoed through the room. It was quiet.
She glanced out the window, where the faint glow of the streetlights filtered through the darkness, before finally reading the unfolded note.
"Gasps...!"
Startled, her hands began to tremble violently as she clutched the paper.
"Th-This is..."
This was absurd. Unbelievable. There was absolutely no evidence.
But...
"Could it... really be...?"
She stole a glance at Daehyuk's sleeping face.
"No, there's no way... But... somehow..."
Staring at Daehyuk with a sudden seed of doubt, she looked back down at the paper.
She read it again, word by word, making sure she hadn't misread a single letter.
It read exactly the same.
The note said:
Did you know that Kang Daehyuk is having an affair?
"N-No way... That can't be true..."
Her knees buckled, and she collapsed to the floor.
Heejin sat slumped on the floor, trying to catch her breath.
There's no way... Daehyuk wouldn't...
She tried to deny it.
But wait, there is one thing that felt off.
The seed of doubt began to sprout.
She carefully recalled the women who had been associated with Daehyuk.
There were many. Far too many.
Given his reputation as a brilliant detective, he was incredibly popular.
Now that I think about it... he did share a strangely lingering look with that woman who asked us to find her cat... And at that club we visited to solve a case, he was with that woman... and then there was...
The doubts kept multiplying.
The suspicion was on the verge of turning into absolute certainty, but...
No... I must never accuse him based on mere suspicion... Evidence. I'm a detective's assistant, I know this. You need evidence to believe something.
She had learned a lot from Daehyuk.
You must trust the evidence. You must listen to what the evidence tells you.
But...
She looked at the paper.
Couldn't this... also be considered a piece of evidence?
Right then.
"Zzz..."
Daehyuk let out an exceptionally loud snore.
Completely oblivious to Heejin's trembling heart, his snoring suddenly felt incredibly irritating.
She stared at the paper before slowly tearing it to pieces.
Shredding it into tiny, unrecognizable bits.
Then, she threw them into the toilet and flushed them away.
For now... Daehyuk must not see this.
Unaware that this act was the ultimate proof of her growing suspicion, she self-hypnotized into believing she had destroyed the evidence solely for Daehyuk's sake.
She returned to her chair.
"Hmm...?"
Daehyuk stirred and woke up.
Heejin flinched, then forced an awkward smile.
"Y-You're awake...?"
"...Oh, huh? Yeah..."
Daehyuk suddenly felt a strange, chilling aura emanating from her.
The intuition he had built over his long career as a detective was screaming at him.
Han Heejin is suspicious of me.
But because he lacked the courage to press her on it...
"I'm going to go to sleep now. I'm tired."
He couldn't bring himself to stop her as she retreated to her room, nor could he ask her what was wrong.
Man... something's weird...
With that passing thought, Daehyuk fell back asleep.
"I successfully delivered the note to Han Heejin. You're going to praise me, right?"
Having returned to the car, Go Seah spoke as she kissed Jeon Sihyun from the passenger seat.
Sihyun chuckled softly, glancing toward the detective agency.
"With this, the seed of discord has been planted. Now, we just have to wait for it to bloom on its own."
"But what is it about that bitch Han Heejin that you like so much, Chairman? Why go to all this trouble?"
"Well..."
Sihyun pictured Heejin's face.
He recalled her pure, innocent nature—the way she looked only at Kang Daehyuk.
And along with that image, he imagined the sheer ecstasy of corrupting that very purity.
Sihyun smirked as he continued.
"Well... because it's fun?"
It was pure amusement. The simple, primal desire to steal the protagonist's heroine.
How much would Kang Daehyuk suffer?
Just picturing it made him naturally aroused.
Seah kissed Sihyun again and whispered, "Even if you end up doing things with Han Heejin, you won't forget about me, right?"
"We'll see. Depends on how you behave."
"Oh, stop it."
The night was long.