At the Crossroads

Chapter 18

Despite the fact that he had got a solid evidence, Jinyoung was not sure what the next step should be. He needed his team's opinions too. So he emailed the cut and edited recording file to his fellow team members in the early morning just before he left for the hotel.

He was busy in the hotel the whole morning. Only after the lunch break, he could check his phone to see if his teammates had tried to contact him.

Several missed calls from all three of them. He locked the staff room and chose Jaebum to call.

"Fuck!" That was the first thing Jinyoung heard. "You at last called us. The recording, is it all real? He said all those words?"

"Yes. Could I have sent it to you if it was all just a joke?"

"I just can't believe that we're going to get our man. Good job, Jinyoung. Finally, this case is gonna be in court," Jaebum said.

"What're we going to do next?"

"Tomorrow, we'll interrogate him. We'll need to bring up the previous murder cases too. Whether Kim Sungho had a knife wound or not, the doctor will contact us soon for that."

The fact that they had to rely on a doctor to confirm the presence of the knife wound, meant the victim's whole body had been unrecognisably burnt.

"Should I be there too when you interrogate him?"

"You're asking me that?" Jaebum said, his tone laced with a bit of humour. "We've enough evidences. But you still want to continue working at the hotel?"

Jinyoung had to admit, for some reason, it felt strange that he would have to leave this temporary life at the hotel, so abruptly like this. And he knew what Jaebum was trying to tease him about.

"I just thought I shouldn't reveal my true self so suddenly and quit the job without any prior notice."

"And you wonder how he's gonna react?" Jaebum laughed.

"Don't mention him. I don't need to tell him anything. And I'm not going to. Let him find another room attendant or whoever to flirt with."

"Okay, your choice," Jaebum said, "Actually, we'll need you here tomorrow. So you should quit the job or at least, take leave."

"Okay. Tomorrow."

Just after Jinyoung had slipped out of the room, he was given a task, too familiar to him. To bring two lemonades to Kim Shiwoo's room. This was going to be the last time.

Mark and Kim Shiwoo were playing chess when Jinyoung got to Kim Shiwoo's room. Mark looked up at him with the usual mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Your lemonades are here." Jinyoung placed the glasses on the table. Just to avoid Mark's eyes, he turned to Kim Shiwoo, who had not looked at him at all. "Shall I come back later for the glasses?"

"How about waiting till we finish?" Mark pulled Jinyoung towards him and down onto the couch beside him. His nose was already deep in Jinyoung's shoulder, drawing in deep breaths.

Jinyoung pushed Mark's head but with very little force. Today was the last day anyway; enduring this a little more would not hurt. In the back of his mind, just as Jaebum had said, he wondered what Mark's reaction would be if he found out Jinyoung's true identity.

"I'm sorry but I need to get back downstairs."

Please, don't get attached to me. Jinyoung wanted to say.

"For what?" Mark propped his head on Jinyoung's shoulder while his hands, which were around Jinyoung's waist, tightened. Kim Shiwoo was drinking his lemonade and was looking at them now with amusement.

"Because I've a lot of work to finish." Jinyoung wriggled uncomfortably and removed Mark's hands, which unwillingly loosened.

"Fine," Mark let go of Jinyoung. "But don't come back. I might not be here by then," he said, taking a glance at Kim Shiwoo. "If you want to though, you can come to my room instead."

"No, thanks."

"I'm surprised he's still resisting you, Mark," Kim Shiwoo said, "Interesting."

Your under interrogation would be even more interesting. Jinyoung thought, indignantly, as he left for the door.

When he got back downstairs, he asked Youngjae to collect the glasses in Kim Shiwoo's room later on. What happened, however, was Youngjae had forgot and only remembered it when he met Jinyoung again, after their afternoon tasks.

"Gosh. Hyung, I haven't gone to Mr. Kim's room. I'm sorry I forgot. 7/11 right?" Youngjae was about to dash off but Jinyoung pulled him back. He was well aware that Youngjae did not want to be anywhere near Kim Shiwoo.

"I'll go. Just keep my cart." Jinyoung left the cart and went straight to the elevator. Once he got to the eleventh floor, he rushed to the room. Kim Shiwoo must be questioning the room service by now.

At the door, Jinyoung gave a knock but there was no response. When no one answered the door even after his third knock, he checked the doorknob, thinking it was locked and Kim Shiwoo was out. But the doorknob was turned and the door opened.

He peeked into the room and froze on the spot when his eyes landed on something unexpected. His heart leapt violently as he stepped slowly into the room.

There was a stream of blood near his feet and it had originated from the couch on which lay the still, dead figure of Kim Shiwoo, with a knife wound in his stomach.

The world seemed to have been turned upside down. Kim Shiwoo was a criminal. But why had he been killed? He had just been seen alive...

Jinyoung could not continue his thoughts when Mark's face appeared in his mind. The sudden horror shook him and he wobbled to the couch nearby and slumped down, his chest getting heavy with every single second passed.