Seo Jung-woo compared and analyzed the information he had gathered from both worlds.

‘Choi Sun-Myung. The same guy used the same method to eliminate his competitors. In this world, he committed three murders over the past ten years, which is fewer than in the other world.’

It was obvious whose hands he had borrowed.

‘The contract killings were ordered by Choi Sun-Myung, and the ones who actually killed were the Knife Gang.’

In the eyes of the law, both the one who gave the order and the one who carried it out are equally guilty of murder. There is no difference in the weight of the crime.

But Seo Jung-woo had already wiped out the Knife Gang. He even burned down their 3-story hideout with enhanced incendiary grenades.

Naturally, all the materials left there were also destroyed.

Seo Jung-woo clicked his tongue.

“Tsk.”

‘Who knew I’d be connected to those guys again.’

He put aside the already destroyed ones and looked for clues elsewhere.

‘But those guys who were picking a fight with Lemon Flower.’

Back then, Wind Planning’s manager Jo Ki-hyeok had brought three guys who looked like they could fight.

‘Then where did those guys come from? Look at this.’

He had to find them first.

‘One of them made a call and said “Hyung-nim.” He obviously didn’t mean his biological brother.’

Seo Jung-woo had snatched the phone then and talked briefly with the guy on the other end.

‘Maybe a boss, or at least an executive.’

At that time, he had learned that guy’s phone number.

‘Did Choi Sun-Myung find a new organization to replace the Knife Gang?’

He immediately discarded that assumption.

‘This soon? No. Too fast. These were guys he already knew. Choi Sun-Myung didn’t only use the Knife Gang. He had been using these guys too from before. Still, he must have used the Knife Gang longer. That relationship lasted at least twenty years.’

Even for the police, tracking someone by phone number is not something to be done lightly. There are ways to do it, but without a proper investigative reason, it could cause problems.

“Since it’s probably a burner phone, I have an excuse.”

He weighed the damage he might suffer if the location tracking caused issues versus the importance of dealing with those who tried to use the twins.

The conclusion was immediate. The twins were more important.

‘If I get disciplined, I’ll take it. I doubt I’d get fired.’

With that decision, he felt more at ease.

‘Burner phones can still be tracked, right? But how do I do the location tracking? Do I need to submit paperwork or something?’

Seeing Seo Jung-woo working with a different expression than usual, Baek Sung-min caught on. He walked over to Seo Jung-woo’s desk and asked,

“Why? What is it? What’s going on?”

“There are some suspicious guys.”

“What kind of suspicious guys?”

“Murder cases.”

Baek Sung-min rolled up his sleeves immediately.

“What! Where! We’ve got to head out right now!”

“Not now. It’s an old unsolved murder case, so there’s no need to get all worked up. It’s not an urgent dispatch situation.”

“Ah, really?”

“It’s not even in our jurisdiction.”

At that point, Baek Sung-min lost interest and lowered his rolled-up sleeves.

“Man, I thought it was something big.”

He started walking back to his desk but then turned around again.

“Jung-woo. But why are you looking into an old case from another jurisdiction? You found something, didn’t you? You did, right?”

“I’m still investigating, so just wait a bit.”

“Hey, let me in on it too. You need anything? Just tell me. I’ll do it.”

Jo Min-seok, who sat next to them, joined in.

“Jung-woo, me too. Count me in.”

“Ah, come on. I said wait.”

About an hour before finishing work, Seo Jung-woo got a phone call.

“The twins?”

It was a call from Park Da-yeon. He answered, and she spoke in a slightly quieter voice than usual.

—It’s our mom.

“What about your mother?”

—She said she’d like to meet you.

He had a hunch about what it was regarding. The photo of him and Park Da-yeon had been used in a fake scandal.

“Sure.”

—Mom! He said okay! Yeah! Yeah!

“Is your mother with you?”

—Yes! She said she’s coming over today and wants to talk over dinner. Ah! Mom! What about us? Yeah! We’re coming too.

“Okay. See you later.”

Seo Jung-woo set the time and place and ended the call.

Baek Sung-min asked,

“Who was that?”

“Da-yeon.”

“What? Da-yeon? 4cats’ Da-yeon? Wow, you’re just casually taking calls from celebrities now. Man, I’m so jeal… huh? If it’s Da-yeon…”

“Her mother asked to see me.”

Baek Sung-min nodded.

“Well, yeah. A minor caught up in a scandal with an adult man, of course she’s upset. You’re not gonna get grabbed by the collar, are you?”

“What are you talking about? That was fake news.”

“Hey, I was joking. Why are you trying to grab my collar?”

“Cut it with the lame jokes. I have something to ask.”

“Heh. When the best detective, Seo Jung-woo, has a question, he comes to Detective Baek Sung-min! That’s me! What is it?”

“If it turns out that the CEO of an entertainment company is a serial killer, what happens to the artists already under contract with that company?”

“What do you mean what happens? A contract is based on good faith, and if the agency damages the public image of their artists, it’s grounds for termination. Of course, the contracts get nullified.”

Seo Jung-woo smacked his lips.

“Then those singers would need somewhere to go.”

Baek Sung-min leaned in close.

“Hey. About that investigation earlier… What was it? Did you find another serial killer or something? Is that guy the CEO of an agency… huh? Is this related to the latest scandal?”

“I told you, nothing's certain yet.”

“Jung-woo! Let me in on this case too! Then I might also have a fling with a celebrity like you and Lee Seon-hwa!”

“This hyung keeps dreaming delusional dreams.”

Seo Jung-woo left work at six. As soon as he stepped out of the police station, he received a call. It was from a number not saved in his contacts. He naturally assumed it was the twins’ mother and answered the phone.

Unexpectedly, it was the voice of James Curtain from the CIA.

- “Is there anything I can help you with?”

Seo Jung-woo slightly frowned.

‘Why call now of all times? Is he marking me?’

He glanced around. No one appeared to be watching him.

“I really don’t like people digging into me.”

- “Not at all. I just saw a familiar name in an article and gave you a call.”

“I appreciate the sentiment. But stay out of this. This has nothing to do with your agency.”

James Curtain stared at the phone after the call ended and muttered to himself.

“I just wanted to help and gain a little leverage.”

What he knew about the scandal case had been gathered through lines he had embedded in the police and government. But that information alone wasn’t enough to draw a conclusion. Even with James Curtain’s abilities, narrowing down the suspects to three companies was the best he could do.

“He said they’re unrelated to our agency? He’s already figured out who’s behind it. I really want to scout that guy.”

Seo Jung-woo headed to the local restaurant they had agreed to meet at.

As soon as he entered, he spotted Na Hee-seon on a phone call in one corner.

Though it was his first time seeing her in person, he recognized her face well. Park Cheol-woo’s laptop background was a picture of her with the twins.

Na Hee-seon soon finished her call. Seo Jung-woo approached and greeted her.

“Hello.”

Na Hee-seon flinched slightly, then smiled and greeted him back.

“Oh. Detective Seo Jung-woo.”

“You’re already here.”

“Yes, but…”

She narrowed her eyes slightly.

“How did you recognize me? I only know you from past interview videos, but this is our first time meeting.”

Seo Jung-woo realized his mistake.

‘Oops. I’ve seen her on the monitor so often I just naturally approached her.’

He made a vague excuse.

“I have a good sense about people. Just looking at you, I could tell you were the twins’ mother.”

Na Hee-seon laughed.

“As expected from a top detective, your eye for detail is impressive.”

“Yeah, well…”

Seo Jung-woo followed her to the private room she had reserved, thinking to himself:

‘How did Uncle Cheol-woo end up marrying such a beautiful and capable woman? This is a total fairytale romance.’

Inside the private room were not only the twins but also Seo Sora and Yoon Nana.

Seo Jung-woo asked,

“Why are you two here?”

Seo Sora quickly replied,

“We're meeting in our neighborhood and this isn’t someone else’s business. Plus, we're getting a full-course meal today.”

This place served Chinese cuisine. Seo Jung-woo said,

“Then I’m getting jjajangmyeon.”

“Jjajang… Are you really going to be like that?”

During the meal, Na Hee-seon declared,

“I’m going to sue all the reporters who spread false articles.”

Na Hee-seon is a lawyer. She doesn’t need to go through another attorney—she can handle the lawsuits herself.

Yoon Nana voiced her concern.

“Celebrities usually don’t sue reporters. They say it’s a losing battle.”

Park Da-yeon explained,

“Our mom’s not like that. If something’s wrong, she just charges straight in.”

Na Hee-seon’s gaze turned cold.

“I’m going to see this through to the end. No settlements. The reason people think it's a loss is because they go in half-heartedly. If you cut off the head entirely, it all works out.”

Seo Jung-woo agreed.

“That’s exactly how I see it. When you hit, hit properly.”

“It’s because people don’t stomp down hard enough that others start crawling up.”

“The dead don’t talk.”

Na Hee-seon’s talk about cutting off heads was metaphorical. She wouldn’t literally harm anyone.

But what Seo Jung-woo said wasn’t a metaphor.

Still, to those unfamiliar with that world, they sounded like they were saying the same thing.

Na Hee-seon smiled.

“Detective Seo, we’re really on the same page.”

“Seems like it.”

“There’s a problem. To sue the people responsible for this, I need information. Right now, I don’t even know who to sue. Our office couldn’t find out who it was.”

She leaned in slightly.

“But we’ve got the best expert on our side—Detective Seo. You were also used in this incident.”

The scandal photos didn’t only feature Park Da-yeon. Seo Jung-woo was in them too. Because of that scandal, his sibling relationship with Seo Sora was made public.

Thanks to top star Lee Seon-hwa naturally explaining things during a live broadcast, the scandal completely disappeared.

No one suspected Park Da-yeon or Seo Jung-woo anymore. Instead, more people started to think something was going on between Lee Seon-hwa and Seo Jung-woo.

Na Hee-seon pleaded,

“Detective Seo, please help us.”

Seo Jung-woo took a sip of jasmine tea and spoke.

“Kim Hak-ro. He’s the one who first spread the article.”

“Huh? We looked up all the names of the reporters who wrote about it, and there was no Kim Hak-ro.”

“He didn’t write it himself. He gave the material to others. So if you search for the articles online, only the names of those reporters will show up.”

“Ah. As expected of Detective Seo! He hid so carefully, yet you already found him!”

“I have a contact in the entertainment industry. I heard about Kim Hak-ro from that person.”

Yoon Nana asked cautiously from the side,

“Could it be Lee Seon-hwa…?”

“There’s someone else too.”

Na Hee-seon asked,

“If the reporter didn’t write the article himself, then he must have had another goal, right?”

“He received much more money than article fees from someone else.”

“So there was a mastermind after all!”

Na Hee-seon clenched her fist and struck the table.

“Then let’s find the person who paid him too! Just let me know what you need for the investigation!”

“Already found them. Wind Planning Entertainment’s CEO Choi Sun-Myung, and director Jo Ki-hyeok. Those two.”

“What?”

“Jo Ki-hyeok is just a henchman. The real body is Choi Sun-Myung.”

He was sure about Choi Sun-Myung being the main culprit, though he wasn’t certain Jo Ki-hyeok was directly involved this time.

‘He probably just helped on the side.’

Na Hee-seon was genuinely surprised.

“Wait. How did you find out all this so quickly after the article came out? I knew you were good at catching murderers, but your investigation skills in the entertainment world are just as impressive.”

Seo Jung-woo thought to himself,

‘This is the serial killer’s doing too. The only difference is he had someone else do the stabbing.’

Most of what he said so far was based on information from AKX Pictures’ Kim Seong-jun and his previous encounter with Jo Ki-hyeok.

What he was about to say next came from the other world.

“What I’m about to say now can’t go into the lawsuit. Just keep it in mind.”

Na Hee-seon swallowed and nodded. The four 4cats girls also perked up their ears, their eyes shining.

“Choi Sun-Myung has a long-standing connection with a gang called the Knife Gang. They handled the dirty work he gave them.”

Na Hee-seon also knew the name.

“Oh. The Knife Gang…”

“Got wiped out recently in an inter-gang conflict.”

That’s what the world believed, but in truth, Seo Jung-woo had wiped them out.

“Recently, Choi Sun-Myung’s been using a different gang. It’s not their first time working together. They’ve been connected even before. Whether he brought them in to keep the Knife Gang in check or for another reason—I haven’t found that out yet.”

Na Hee-seon looked a bit overwhelmed.

“Wait… how do you know all this in such detail…”

Seo Jung-woo wasn’t done yet.

“Wind Planning used to be called Baram Records. About ten years ago, the president of Baram Records was stabbed to death by a robber. After that, Choi Sun-Myung took over the company.”

“What?”

“That murder of the former Baram Records president was ordered by Choi Sun-Myung using the Knife Gang.”

The reason he judged it that way was because the White Shark Guild in the other world committed the exact same type of murder.

“From that point on, Knife Gang’s money started flowing into Wind Planning. The goal was money laundering. Choi Sun-Myung used that money to expand the company.”

Choi Sun-Myung laundered money and grew his company in the other world. Seo Jung-woo figured he did the same here.

Na Hee-seon was wide-eyed at the torrent of information. This went far beyond what she had anticipated.

“So Choi Sun-Myung had the original CEO killed in a contract hit and took over the company?”

“There’s no evidence yet, but I’m certain.”

“Then that murder case…”

“Still remains an unsolved cold case.”

Seo Jung-woo didn’t bother mentioning the two other victims. Adding those would make it a serial murder case.

Even without those details, Na Hee-seon was already overwhelmed. She sipped her jasmine tea, trying to calm herself.

‘How long has it been since that fake scandal article came out?’

Yesterday during the day the fake news broke, and that night, Lee Seon-hwa revealed on live broadcast that Seo Jung-woo and Seo Sora were siblings.

‘It’s only been a day!’