FACE-OFF | PJM

Chapter 50

Uncle Wang shook his head, still visibly troubled. "I'm not entirely sure. All I found was the tombstone vandalized, with red paint smeared all over it. We tried to check the CCTV footage, but it appears there's nothing to be found. The cemetery's security cameras only cover the outer perimeter."

Jimin's brow furrowed as he listened to Uncle Wang's account. "I'll take a look at myself," he declared resolutely.

Y/N turned to Auntie Wang and asked her to look after Joon Min. She bent down to stroke her son's head and reassured him, "Joonie, Mom and Dad need to go out for a little while. But we promise we'll take you to the theme park next time, okay?"

Joon Min nodded understandingly.

Y/N held Jimin's hand as they prepared to leave. "I'd feel better if I came with you," she said, looking at Jimin.

Jimin nodded in agreement and turned to Uncle Wang. "Uncle Wang, we'll head over there together."

Uncle Wang simply nodded, and the three of them made their way to the cemetery to investigate the unsettling incident.

Jimin parked the car and walked over to Grandma's tombstone. The sight before them was disheartening. The tombstone had been subjected to wanton vandalism.

Y/N furrowed her brow, attempting to wipe away the red marks, but her efforts proved futile. "Did this happen last night?" she asked.

Jimin nodded. "It looks like it."

Y/N sighed in frustration. "They used red paint. Shouldn't the security guard have noticed something unusual?"

Uncle Wang's anger was palpable. "They didn't notice a thing. Who could have done this?" he seethed.

Jimin remarked, "Only a foolish person would resort to such senseless acts."

He couldn't fathom the motive behind vandalizing a deceased person's tombstone. If the perpetrator truly harbored resentment toward Madame Park or the entire Park family, wouldn't it make more sense to target those who were still alive? Over the years, the Park family had amassed its share of enemies, yet none had ever stooped to such vandalism.

"This must have been carried out by someone who wanted to remain hidden," Y/N added thoughtfully.

Jimin nodded. "Let's check the CCTV footage."

The Park family had their private cemetery, but due to the circumstances surrounding Grandma's passing, Jimin's incarceration, and Y/N's estrangement from the family, her funeral arrangements had been hasty and inadequate. Even her final resting place had been usurped by certain selfish members of the Park family.

As they reviewed the CCTV footage, it became apparent that the cemetery was usually a tranquil place, visited by only a handful of people. "Yesterday, only twenty-one people came here," Y/N counted.

However, their search through the CCTV footage yielded no leads. The vandals remained unidentifiable.

Frowning, Y/N reached for the mouse and fast-forwarded the footage to the nighttime recordings. In April, darkness fell in Seoul by six o'clock, and Y/N suspected that the culprits would have chosen the cover of night for their actions.

However, Y/N couldn't help but find the situation somewhat absurd.

The CCTV footage showed that at six o'clock, two men and a woman had arrived at the cemetery. Among them were a young man, an older man, and a middle-aged woman. They hadn't arrived together but had entered the cemetery separately.

Y/N watched the footage repeatedly, and Jimin tightened his grip on her hand. "These people entered and exited around the same time," he pointed out.

Jimin gazed at her with understanding. "I see what you mean. You think the culprits lacked confidence. They were likely worried that someone might notice, so they chose to carry out their actions under the cover of darkness. They would have acted swiftly to minimize their time on the scene."

Nodding in agreement, Y/N asked, "What should we do next?"

"Just the three of them? It seems unlikely, but let's investigate further," Jimin remarked.

Their next step was to seek compensation for the damaged tombstone. Simultaneously, they would find a legitimate reason to relocate Grandma's grave back to the Park family cemetery where she rightfully belonged.

They dropped off Uncle Wang and headed home. The incident had left both of them emotionally drained, so they decided to spend the rest of the day at home.

During their journey home, Jimin made a call to Taehyung, providing him with a concise account of the situation. He requested that Taehyung look into the backgrounds of those three individuals.

That evening, Taehyung returned with a stack of documents related to the three people in question, ready to assist Jimin in unraveling the mystery.

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A/N: Who do you think it is?