＜ Even after all these years, I catch on. (1) ＞

“who are you?”

An elderly woman’s voice came from inside the front door.

“This is Lee Shin-hyeok who called.”

rattle.

The door opened and a woman in her late 50s appeared.

The face of victim Oh Hee-jin flashes in my mind.

The pale face and bluish lips now overlapped with Oh Hee-jin’s mother.

Resembles.

“hello. mother.”

she let out a low sigh.

“hello. You are the first person I see. Please do not stand there and come in.”

“thank you.”

The living room was plain.

Shin Hyuk turned his gaze to the place where the door was firmly closed.

Compared to the doorknob in the other room, it was less shiny. It’s because I didn’t get a lot of hands.

It will be Oh Hee-jin’s room.

Shin Hyuk wanted to put his hand to open the refrigerator door like a thirsty person, but he showed patience.

It’s a law that requires procedures to get what you want.

Like a predator waiting for the right time to lie low in the bush.

“My father must be still before work.”

“Yeah. Please sit there.”

Shin Hyuk sat in the living room in front of the TV.

Soon she brought orange juice on a tray.

“thank you.”

“Is there any progress?”

The voice that came out of her castle gate was weak, but it was full of anticipation.

Zeigarnik effect (unfinished effect).

Oh Hee-jin’s mother doesn’t know who murdered her daughter so horribly.

The cogs in my head don’t turn, and I’m stuck at that time.

There is no one to be angry with, no one to resent.

Only when the story of who made her daughter like that is completed, and when the culprit is caught, will the gears start to move again and the unconscious will regain stability at least.

Of course, self-consciousness doesn’t recognize that.

First love and unrequited love are similar.

“Leaving behind the existing police investigation method, we are taking a strand in a new investigation direction. So here’s what I need to know. Can I see your daughter’s room?”

“I went to see it several times back then.”

Shin Hyuk followed her to the first visit she had seen.

She opened the door and showed Shin Hyuk her daughter’s room.

Fifteen years have passed, but the victim’s belongings remained intact.

The reason is simple.

The police must have left a note that it would be better not to clean it up until the culprit is caught.

The room was tidy.

Like an elementary school teacher, there were many textbooks and reference books on the bookshelf.

Victim Oh Hee-jin’s case documents did not mention anything that could be identified as a diary or clue.

“What was your daughter’s personality usually like?”

“I was a little introverted. Ever since I was little, I was a grown-up, and even when I was sick, I was a child who didn’t show it once because I was afraid that my mom and dad would worry.”

Shin Hyuk looked around Oh Hee Jin’s room once again and asked.

“Do you have any photos of your daughter?”

“A picture?”

“Yeah. Any photo from 15 years ago is fine.”

People are driven by personal desires.

People who are evaluated as good people or people who are pointed at as bad people, the way they all move is similar.

It manifests itself both verbally and externally.

“Wait.”

After disappearing into the living room, she held out her phone to Shin-hyeok.

Oh Hee-jin, wearing padding, was smiling brightly in the park.

Unlike the thick jacket, skinny jeans were sticking to her ankles.

“Are there any other pictures?”

“Yeah. If you flip it sideways…”

Eventually, Shin Hyuk received a total of 17 photos sent to his cell phone.

It also included a photo the victim had sent to her mother.

In the photo, there were no luxury items to be found in the clothes, shoes, and bags she was wearing.

but.

Among the 17 photos, there are a total of 13 photos of the ankles exposed.

“I guess your daughter liked heels.”

“Yeah. But why is the picture…”

“I think it can help with the investigation. Do you also keep your daughter’s shoes?”

“Yeah. It’s in the shoe closet.”

“Please.”

Shin-hyeok followed her from the front door and was able to see inside the shoe cabinet.

“This is Heejin.”

Two pairs of sneakers, two pairs of flats, three pairs of low heels and high heels.

The shoes the victim was wearing in the photo are missing.

On April 10th, a few days before the incident, the heels she was wearing also disappeared.

“…”

In an instant, a vast number of cases appeared and disappeared repeatedly in Shin Hyuk’s head.

She looked at Shin Hyuk curiously.

It was because I didn’t understand why he was looking at his shoes all of a sudden.

“Mother, do you remember what your daughter was wearing on her way to work the day you went to report her missing?”

She couldn’t help but be a little taken aback.

It was because it was markedly different from the questions I had been asked by the police.

Who are your close friends, who might hold grudges, whether there was a family feud, and so on.

It was to the point where the police in front of me felt strange.

But she still thought.

“Whoa, I don’t know.”

Shin Hyuk nodded slowly and subtly.

“Thank you for taking the time to rest. I will contact you.”

“Hold on tight, hold on tight. My child, please relieve the injustice.”

“We will do our best.”

Shin Hyuk escaped, ignoring her watery voice.

Emotions don’t help.

Shin Hyuk checked the photo sent to his cell phone again.

The two pictures of them wearing sneakers are plain clothes.

The same goes for photos of shoes that reveal the ankles.

The victim doesn’t seem to be interested in it, as he doesn’t have a bag or any special accessories.

However, I like heels that appeal to my ankles.

The important thing is that the shoes and heels are gone.

If you zoom in on the photo, it seems like it’s been a while since you bought the shoes, but seeing that the heels are smooth with no creases or scratches, it’s been a while since you bought them.

One wore and went out, and one carried.

The stitching on the missing beige heel was also unique.

It is densely composed like a chain.

However, the stitching of Oh Hee-jin’s other heels is all straight.

However, only the heel in the photo taken on April 10 has such a shape.

People like familiar things.

The chain-shaped stitching must have been a new attempt for the victim.

The missing person was reported on April 13th.

It was the 13th that both shoes and heels disappeared at the same time.

Shin Hyuk immediately connected to the group chat of the strong team 1 and attached a picture.

It was a beige heel with chain stitching.

– It is highly likely that the victim went to AS for this heel on the day of the disappearance. Please take a good look at the stitching. It’s not a normal stitch.

– Confirm.

– OK.

* * *

Park Jong-min was able to find a handmade shoe shop located downtown.

At that time, when he saw the middle-aged man who seemed to be the owner lowering the shutters, Park Jong-min approached as if rushing.

Lee Soo-jung and Choi Dong-chul were moving to find another store.

“Now, wait a minute!”

The middle-aged man, who looked older, turned around and was startled.

“Who, who are you?”

Park Jong-min smiled terribly (?) and held out his ID.

“It’s the police.”

“Are you the police?”

After hesitating, he looked at Park Jong-min for a while before opening his mouth.

“Why the police?”

“I came here because it’s nothing else, it’s been over 15 years, is that right?”

“Yeah. It is, but…”

Park Jong-min spoke quickly.

“I came here because I wanted to wear the shoes of a craftsman who makes handmade shoes with a 15-year tradition.”

“We also receive and sell things here and there…”

“It’s my friend’s wedding tomorrow, and I don’t have anything to wear. Sorry for leaving work. I would like to ask you a favor.”

He glanced around.

There were still a lot of people passing by.

“Come on in.”

The middle-aged man saw Park Jong-min’s face and opened the shutter without knowing.

So that people can see inside.

Park Jong-min, who went inside, moved slowly as if looking at the shoes.

I tried to find the stitching from Shin Hyuk, but there are only similar ones. Nothing was delicately stitched together.

Park Jong-min, who was spinning around like that, approached the owner at the counter.

The shop owner leaned back slightly and said.

“Don’t you like anything?”

“Boss, that’s…”

Park Jong-min picked up his cell phone and showed him the picture.

“Boss, do you have any shoes that look like they are sewn like this?”

He took off his glasses and looked at the picture quietly.

For a moment, he looked at Park Jong-min like a strange person.

“Are these women’s shoes?”

Didn’t you say you were going to the wedding?

“Boss, I actually came here for something related to the case. You know the serial murder case 15 years ago, right? It’s because of that incident, has there ever been someone who delivered with this type of stitching?

“A serial murder case?”

“Yeah. It’s an incident that happened in this area, and 7 people were killed. Do you remember?”

His eyes widened slightly.

“Ah…of course. I remember. You stopped by our store the day the teacher went missing. I can’t help but remember.”

Park Jong-min’s eyes widened.

“Yes?”

“I think I need AS for the shoes I bought. I went to give you shoes. Wait… these shoes are right. Yes. these shoes.”

Park Jong-min could feel his back tingle.

Because Shin Hyuk’s words were pouring out of the president’s mouth.

Somehow, I wanted to come here.

Park Jong-min asked quickly with thick lips.

“Do you remember who made these shoes? The delivery person.”

“Yeah?”

As if lost in thought, the president pursed his forehead.

As if Park Jong-min was helping him remember, he talked about Shin-hyeok’s profiling.

“A man in his late 40s to early 50s. He is rather tall.”

“uh!?”

As if he remembered the shop owner, he looked at Park Jong-min in surprise.

“Yes. Oh right. Come to think of it, we met that day.”

Park Jong-min hurriedly asked.

“What do you mean?”

“With that elementary school teacher and the handmade shoemaker…”

Oh Hee-jin, who entrusted AS, said he met at the store.

The two of them talked for a while about the shoes that were entrusted with AS.

The man also said that he repeatedly appealed to the president himself about the stitching as if boasting.

“Is that day, the 13th?”

The store owner nodded his head in disbelief.

“Yeah. Yes. He always came to deliver on the 13th and collected shoes entrusted to AS.”

“Do you have a business card or phone number?”

“Wait.”

He started searching the drawers.

“It seems to have disappeared because it was so long ago… Ah!”

The boss hurriedly lifted his cell phone.

“I didn’t delete the number I once saved, so here it is, here.”

[Yangpyeong handmade shoes]

010- 421········.

“Yangpyeong handmade shoes?”

“Yes. I heard that he lives in Yangpyeong.”

Shin Hyuk’s words passed through Park Jong-min’s mind once again.

‘There is a possibility that it is a person from another region.’

Park Jong-min unknowingly brushed his shaved head.

I’ve seen Lee Shin-hyeok for a while, but whenever this happens, I get goosebumps as if a ghost is standing behind me.

“You don’t know the address?”

“Yeah. It seems that the business card is also missing. It’s been a long time since that person suddenly stopped trading. I really didn’t look like that, but is that person the culprit?”

“no. Nothing has been revealed yet. Thank you, good luck!”

Park Jong-min, who obtained the president’s business card and a phone number that appeared to be the culprit, left the store.

Park Jong-min, who had an expression as if possessed by something, quickly wrote a group message on his cell phone.

My body and head were soaked with excitement, but Park Jong-min’s message was calm.

– I found it ^^