Love Me If You Dare

Chapter 67

Afternoon.  In a Hong Kong style tea restaurant.  

Hong Kong is known for being crowded.  So little space, so many people.  The tiny restaurant is packed with diners.  It took a while before Namjoon finds an empty table.  He can’t be bothered waiting for the waiters to come to get their orders.  He and Lucas walk up to the counter.

Lisa is sitting next to Jungkook.  She asks him quietly : “What have you discovered?”

Jungkook smiles: “I still need to verify a few things.” 

Lisa nods.

After a while, the two men return. Namjoon puts 2 plates of rice in front of them : “There’s no grilled eel today.  I ordered a barbecue roast pork and roast goose with rice for you.  It’s their most popular dish here.”

Lisa looks down.  Everyone is having the same food - roast pork and roast goose with rice.

Lucas takes a pair of chopsticks and starts to eat. Namjoon is hungry too.  He starts before Lisa and Jungkook.  

Jungkook frowns.  Then he starts eating, but obviously, pushing the pork to one side.  He is only eating the goose.   

“Wait.” said Lisa.  She transfers the roast pork from his plate to hers, and gives him all her roast goose.  

Jungkook smiles at her : “Thanks.”

During the whole exchange process, they never talked, as if they instinctively knew what’s on each other’s mind.  Both Lucas and Namjoon are amazed. 

Lisa explains to them: “Oh, he doesn’t take roast pork.”  But of course, she didn’t elaborate on the reason.  

Namjoon smiles. Lucas continues with his meal.  

Lisa’s phone rings.  It’s her mother.  She walks outside to take the call.

The three men are left at the table. Namjoon thought he should start a topic of conversation since he is the host. He smiles to Jungkook :

“Professor, you are so lucky to have such a gentle and considerate girlfriend.”

This is a new experience for Jungkook.  People usually speak to him out of respect.  Even if it’s out of envy, it’s because of his high IQ.  It’s the first time it’s on his success on finding the right woman.

Ha ha…. that’s inevitable that other men are jealous of him.  

He smiles, and then he looks at Namjoon and says : “Thank you.”

Namjoon smiles back. Jungkook looks at Lucas, who kept quiet all these time. Lucas doesn't think that it concerns him at all.  But since, Jungkook is looking at him, he pauses, then replies : “Top 15% - 30%.  Not bad indeed.”

They have been working together for some time now.  They are getting more familiar with each other. Jungkook just smiles : “Ah, a rookie that has never been in love.”

Lucas is puzzled: “What do you mean?”

Jungkook has no patience to teach juniors.  He just laughs in his heart.

What a stupid kid.  He fails to understand one simple truth.

There’s no ranking when it comes to love.  She is his one and only -  No.1.

——————

The third person they are visiting is the male victim Song Joong Ki's apartment.

This young architect lived alone in a well-designed and classy apartment.  His brother is there to meet them.  

“Why did the pervert choose Joongki?” The brother speaks with reddened eyes. He is aggrieved : “He gets on with everyone.  He has a bright future in front of him…”

Lisa takes a look at the apartment.  Like his brother said, he is an outstanding person.  He’s an award winning architect, working in a one of the best firms in town.  The novel he wrote in his spare time has won many awards and is a best seller.  Like So Jisub, his house is full of trophies and awards.  

Jungkook picks up his latest trophy.  It has the words ‘Winner of 2013 Hong Kong Galaxy Writing Competition engraved on it.  His brother explains : “This is the highest achievement he has obtained so far.  He was one of two people who got this award.  It is very special.  He was planning to give up his architectural career to become a full-time writer.”

Jungkook picks up a pile of letters.  These are fan mails.  Looks like his novel is very popular.  His audience covers a large age group. Jungkook looks at Namjoon. Namjoon nods and says : “We’ve checked out his fans.  There’s no one that is suspicious.” 

Lisa asks the brother : “Does he has a girlfriend?”

The brother shakes his head : “My brother spent all his time on work and his writing.  Now that he’s giving up his day job, he would have had more time to find a girl, and settle down.  He was looking at buying his own apartment.  But now…”

Everyone is silent.  

The overall impression they got from So Jisub’s family and friends is that he is a high achiever with pleasant personality.  He is not from a wealthy family.  His parents died a few years ago from illness.  But he and his brother have had a comfortable and good life…. until a few days ago.  

—————-

The last place to visit is their youngest victim - Cha Eunwoo’s house. 

Well, to be correct, his uncle and auntie’s house. His parents died in a car accident last year.

The child’s death brought pain and grief to the family, but in a different way to the previous families. When Lisa and the others arrive, his uncle (father’s elder brother) is manning his grocery shop.  He looks tired.  His aunt is looking after their two children. 

“We feel sorry for Eunwoo.” The auntie cries as she speaks : “But our work is busy and the shop opens for long hours.  We are always exhausted.  We know that he missed his parents, but he never said anything to us.  He usually hid in the room when he came back from school.  He was an obedient boy, and he did well at school.  If his parents were still around, perhaps he wouldn’t have met the killer, and he’ll be alright…”

She is so overcome with emotions she can’t continue. Lisa consoles her for a while, then she asks : “Can we have a look at his room please?”

“Yes, I’ll show you where it is.”

The Cha family house is not big.  There is no extra room for Eunwoo, and the cousins didn’t want to live in the same room with him.  so Eunwoo stays in the small loft.  

Eunwoo is a mature boy for his age.  The loft is neat and tidy.  All the books are classified into genres and stacked neatly.  He has lots of superhero comics like Superman & Spiderman.   There are a lot of awards displayed on the wall:  2nd place in class, winner of writing competition, history knowledge contest winner etc etc 

To everyone’s surprise, Jungkook only took one look at the room.  Then he walks to the entrance : “We can go now.”

The other three people are a little shocked.  Lisa rushes up to him : “Why?”

Jungkook looks at her : “I’ve seen what I needed to see.  I have all the clues now.”

Lisa asks unbelievably: “You have worked out what his fantasy is?”

Jungkook gives a confident smile.  The others wait for him for an answer.

“Oh, I know everything.” He says: “His fantasy, his desires, and his next target…”

The others are amazed.  He continues : “…and how we can find out his name, identity and what he looks like.”