Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Grandma's Ginger Tea
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Lee Jae-hyun kept a tense watch around the playground until Choi Dae-hyeon finished playing and headed home.
Even after that, he surveilled the area for quite some time longer, but Park Ye-chan never appeared.
The same went for the alleyway that Serhen was monitoring.
‘If this is the case, wouldn’t it be better to tail Choi Dae-hyeon instead of waiting for Park Ye-chan?’
The thought crossed his mind briefly, but Lee Jae-hyun soon shook his head.
If he followed Choi Dae-hyeon, Park Ye-chan might sense the surveillance and switch targets.
That could change the location of the child kidnapping incident entirely.
And then Lee Jae-hyun wouldn’t be able to stop it.
‘No matter how I think about it, patrolling this area is the best option.’
On top of that, tailing Choi Dae-hyeon carried its own risks....
He might end up looking suspicious himself for no reason.
Not long ago, he’d been pegged as a suspicious person, prompting a police response.
“......Guess I’ll have to tough it out for a while.”
As soon as he relaxed his tension, a wave of fatigue hit him. Lee Jae-hyun pressed his temples with his thumb and muttered.
It was another round of wasted effort, but he didn’t give up.
In the end, he found the presumed kidnapping spot again on Monday.
This time, Serhen headed to the playground while Lee Jae-hyun took the alleyway.
3 p.m.
School was letting out soon, and kids would be heading to cram schools.
The alley was still quiet.
Just a few elderly women carrying shopping bags from the market, or people walking their dogs—that was it.
Even after sitting there for about an hour, he could count the passersby on two hands.
Lee Jae-hyun was human, too. He kept his nerves on edge, bracing for Park Ye-chan’s appearance.
But after days of barely sleeping, his body naturally grew slack.
He forcibly reined in his loosening tension, ran a hand down his face, and exhaled.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Footsteps approached from the end of the alley.
Lee Jae-hyun glanced back casually and saw the approaching figure wave at him with a friendly face.
“Young man. We meet again?”
“Hello, ma’am.”
It was the elderly woman from the cat harassment report last time.
They’d met just yesterday, too, so Lee Jae-hyun bowed familiarly in greeting.
“You were here before, too, but you’re a cop who doesn’t wear a uniform?”
“Ah, yes. Today’s my day off.”
She approached slowly, asking, and he nodded as he answered.
“Hmm?” she said, plopping down next to him.
“Day off, but you don’t look like you’re resting.”
“There might be someone harassing cats, so even on my day off, I couldn’t relax.”
“Aigoo. Still, people need to rest when it’s time to rest.”
“Haha......”
The grandma scolded lightly.
At her gentle chiding, Lee Jae-hyun smiled awkwardly.
She was right that rest was important, but now wasn’t the time to rest.
How could he rest until he caught Park Ye-chan?
Seeing his reaction, the grandma sighed with concern.
“Didn’t sleep again last night, did you?”
“Ah, yes. Seems like insomnia.”
“That won’t do. No good. I brought this to drink myself, but you need a cup.”
With that, she pulled a thermos from her small bag.
Lee Jae-hyun eyed the thermos curiously.
“What’s that?”
“Ginger tea. One sip relaxes the body, calms the mind, helps you sleep, and melts away tension.”
She opened the lid as she spoke.
Click.
The ginger scent wafted out, making his head spin.
It carried a sweet honey aroma, too—not bad, but he had no intention of drinking what she’d brought for herself.
He wasn’t planning to relax right now, anyway.
“I’m fine. You drink it, ma’am.”
“No, I already had some earlier.”
He refused, but she smiled as if it were nothing and poured some into the thermos lid.
“You don’t have to go to this trouble......”
“When an elder offers, you say thank you and accept.”
She handed him the lid full of ginger tea.
Lee Jae-hyun finally took it, bowing his head slightly.
“Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”
He brought it to his lips for a sip.
Then, thoughts suddenly flashed through his mind.
She’d been there when the cat collapsed last time, at the mart parking lot, and now here....
Her walking routes overlapped completely with the presumed crime scenes where Park Ye-chan had struck.
Maybe she’d spotted Park Ye-chan when Lee Jae-hyun missed him.
With that in mind, he lowered the tea and turned to her.
“Ma’am.”
“Hmm?”
Her eyes had been on the tea in his hand, but she looked up at his call.
He glanced at the tea, then asked her first.
“Do you walk around here often?”
“What else is there to do at my age? No chores at home. To avoid dying, I walk for exercise.”
At her words, Lee Jae-hyun paused, then smiled awkwardly.
He never knew how to respond when an elder mentioned death.
He shrugged and continued.
“You look pretty spry still.”
“That’s because I walk a lot.”
She really did seem healthy.
She looked her age, but her steps were steady.
No signs of health issues.
Hearing her say she was hanging on thanks to that, he smiled awkwardly again.
“Haha. Then, ma’am, have you seen any suspicious people around lately?”
“Because of the cat?”
“Yes.”
He nodded readily at her question.
He didn’t know her exact routes or how far she walked daily.
But they overlapped with spots where the child-kidnapping murderer Park Ye-chan was presumed to have acted.
She might have seen him.
But crushing his small hope, the grandma shook her head firmly.
“I check for sleeping cats every time I head out for a walk, but I haven’t seen anything.”
“I see...... Well, anyone unfamiliar wandering the neighborhood? That sort of thing?”
He asked again.
She looked at him with a strange expression.
“There was one......?”
“Really? Any description......?”
He leaned in eagerly, but she let out a small chuckle.
Pfft.
She laughed softly at his urgency, pointing at him.
“You weren’t around much before, but lately I keep running into you, young man.”
“Ah...... No, I mean, anyone else besides me?”
“No one else...... You must really like cats? You’re so concerned.”
She stared straight into his eyes.
Lee Jae-hyun hesitated, then nodded.
She figured he liked cats because he cared so much.
As she said that, he couldn’t help recalling Choi Dae-hyun from the playground last time.
What he cared about wasn’t cats—it was the 11-year-old boy who should be living happily: Choi Dae-hyun.
He exhaled and spoke.
“Yeah, well...... They’re lovable.”
At his sincere words, she nodded indifferently, then pointed to the ginger tea in his hand.
“Cute, sure. They’re noisy sometimes, though. Anyway, finish it up clean and give it back. My son’s coming, so I gotta go soon.”
“Ah, yes. Thank you.”
Hearing she had to rush for her son, he downed the ginger tea in one go.
Slurp.
The warm liquid spread through him, easing his tension for a moment.
She chuckled as he finished.
“No need to chug it like that. Hand over the lid.”
“Yes, ma’am. Thank you.”
“Take care.”
She capped the thermos, tucked it away, and waved as she stood.
She left without a backward glance.
Left alone again, Lee Jae-hyun leaned back on the bench, waiting for Park Ye-chan.
How long did he wait?
Was it the sleepless nights catching up?
Or was the grandma’s ginger tea that effective?
Drowsiness crept in stealthily.
Feeling his heavy eyelids droop, he furrowed his brow.
His body was tired, sure, but dozing off like this while on high alert was odd.
“If it were from relaxing, I’d get it, but......”
This was a situation where he absolutely couldn’t relax.
It felt unnatural.
As he pondered that,
The ginger scent on his breath reminded him of the grandma’s words.
‘Ginger tea. One sip relaxes the body, calms the mind, helps you sleep, and melts away tension.’
Why did those words surface now?
An alarm rang in his head.
The grandma from the cat report.
Her walking routes matching the presumed crime scenes.
Park Ye-chan should’ve shown on CCTV if he kidnapped there, but he hadn’t at all.
His mind raced.
What if the child kidnapping-murder from his past life wasn’t Park Ye-chan acting alone?
‘Ah...... Damn.’
Realizing that, Lee Jae-hyun felt his body go limp and closed his eyes.
Sleep overwhelmed him; he couldn’t do anything more.
The last thing he managed was,
‘Serhen......’
Calling her name in his mind.
Then, he lost consciousness.