The Sun to my Moon

Chapter 31: The bean

Go Hae-ri  wiped her palms on her jeans, feeling unaccountably nervous as she entered Bean's an hour later. Well, perhaps unaccountably was the wrong word. It was rather unnerving to walk into a place where you knew one of the occupants had been trying to kill you for the better part of several weeks, after all. She felt anxious, exposed. Cha Dal-geon had wanted to come with her, but she had refused, fearing he would make a scene once he figured out who the most likely suspect was and ruin the whole thing. Gi Tae-ung had offered to accompany her in his stead, but Hae-ri  believed they would have a better chance of drawing out the would-be killer if she went in alone. Dal-geon, of course, hadn't liked that idea one bit, but the rest of Vagabond had agreed to abide by her wishes. As a result, Kim Se-hun had been charged with keeping Dal-geon from barging into Bean's halfway through the operation, and Hae-ri  had entered the coffee shop alone.

She glanced around uneasily, trying to assess who in this charming café might want her dead.

Kim Na-young, the manager, had always been nice, but did her too-friendly smile conceal a sinister intent? That tall guy in the glasses had flirted with her the last time she was here, but maybe that had just been an excuse to get near enough to drop something in her drink.

"Oh annyeonghaseyo, Agent Noona," Jin Ri-byung greeted her cheerfully as she approached the counter. He beamed at her. "What can I do for you today?"

She smiled back at him, grateful to see at least one friendly face in this place. "Annyeonghaseyo, Ri-byungah. Just a coffee today."

"The usual?"

"Ye, gomawo," she said distractedly, still looking around for potential suspects. That woman with the baby was in here an awful lot, but surely if she was plotting to murder someone, she wouldn't bring the baby along, would she? The man with the beard who was always in here on his laptop—he was a much more likely candidate.

Ri-byung whistled while he prepared her coffee. "Noona, I finished that essay for the application to that internship you recommended me for. I was wondering if you'd mind reading it over for me before I submit it."

"Sure," she said absently. "I'd be happy to." Hae-ri felt it was impossible. There were over twenty people in here, over half of which she recognized as employees or regulars. Maybe she should have let Dal-geon come along after all. He probably would have taken one look at this lot and deduced the identity of the guilty party based on the color of their shoelaces or something.

"Daebak. I'll email it to you later today, Noona?"

Ri-byung snapped the lid on her coffee and presented it to her with a flourish. "Here you go."

Hae-ri  stared at it. There it was. Her probably poisoned coffee. The would-be instrument of her death. Her eyes flicked up to look behind the counter, but Ri-byung was the only one there. No one else had been within five feet of the cup he'd just handed to her during the whole time he'd been preparing it. She looked back at Ri-byung, aghast.

"That'll be four thousand and two hundred won," he said cheerfully.

Hae-ri handed the money over wordlessly, wondering if there was any way she could get reimbursed for poisoned beverages sustained in the line of duty. How would one go about filing a worker's compensation claim for such a thing?

Ri-byung put the cash in the drawer and handed her a receipt and her change. "All right. You're all set."

Thanks didn't really seem appropriate under the circumstances. Her mind reeling, she took the coffee and left.

Shaken, she walked slowly back to the SUV where the rest of the team was waiting.

It couldn't be Ri-byung. He was so young and sweet. He was on the debate team, for God's sake. He couldn't be in league with Edward Park. He couldn't be.