The Sun to my Moon

Chapter 37: Promise

By the end of the day, the entire team was tired and frustrated. As Cha Dal-geon had predicted, locating Samael was not so simple a task as one might expect. Se-hun gave up first, checking his watch around seven and announcing he had to go pick up Namjoon. They'd found no mention of Samael in connection to any of the files for the development companies aside from Venom Industries. Tae-ung was the next to leave. He had spent all day on the phone trying to get hold of Samael's military records, but so far his usual sources hadn't been able to help him.

Hwa-sook was the only holdout, aside from Haeri and Dal-geon. She had found a PO Box for Venom Industries located in Jeonju, but had yet to find a single property owned solely by Shin Samael that might give them some clue about where he lived. Currently, she was attempting to relieve her frustration by looking for a photograph of Samael that they could use to pin on the murder board. Unfortunately, so far, this had turned out to be an even less rewarding search than the hunt for property records.

Hwa-sook scowled at her computer. "How the hell can there not be a single photograph of this guy on the entire internet?" she complained. "It's not possible."

"I'm guessing he's pretty camera shy," Dal-geon responded as he leafed through yet another file.

"Jinjjaro. There's not even a single snapshot of him in the company newsletter."

"Which company?"

"Any of them," she groused. "I checked."

"Mm," Dal-geon said, lost in his own thoughts.

After awhile, even Dal-geon needed a break. He went down the street to buy a cup of tea, foregoing the usual stock in the break room so he had an excuse to stretch his legs for a few minutes.

When he got back to the NIS, however, he found he wasn't quite ready to go back inside. It was a lovely night, and he decided he might as well ponder the latest developments in the Blue Shark case outside as in. The fresh air would do him good.

He sat down on the curb and sipped his tea, thinking about Samael.

His phone rang in his pocket, interrupting his reverie. He answered without bothering to look at the display. "Haeri Go.."

"Eodiya?" she demanded.

"I'm outside."

"Outside where?" Her voice was urgent, almost desperate.

"I'm in the parking lot," he said, taken aback by her tone. "Waeyo?"

"Don't move," she ordered.

He frowned at the phone. She had hung up on him. He didn't have long to wonder at her odd behavior, however, because she showed up outside the main entrance to the NIS less than a minute later. He saw her look around frantically, apparently scanning the parking lot for his car.

"Annyeong, Haeri-ssi," he greeted her. "Nice night, isn't it?"

She turned towards the sound of his voice and seemed surprised to see him sitting on the curb. Her expression was full of anxiety, and he saw relief wash over her face for the briefest instant before she walked over to him. "What are you doing out here?"

He shrugged. "Thinking." He looked up at her. Her eyes looked wild, desperate.

"Thinking," she repeated in disbelief. She sat down next to him heavily and buried her head in her hands.

He was instantly on the alert. "Waeyo? What's the matter?"

She shook her head, but didn't answer, which did nothing to reassure him.

He gripped her arm. "Haeri-ssi. Tell me what happened."

She laughed shortly. It was a harsh, humorless sound. "Nothing happened."