↪tuesday, january 10th, 2023

"sir, the police officers have arrived. they are waiting in the faculty lounge." a petite young woman informed the president of yonsei university, who was busy with paperwork in his office. the office was spacious and bright with expensive furniture and a few pieces of world-renowned paintings on the walls. the whole place was perfectly clean except for the table where stacks of papers covered ninety percent of the surface.

"i'll be out in a few."
after putting on a pair of black glasses the president walked out of his office and headed straight for the faculty lounge which was located next door. the view that opened in front of his eyes was somewhat chaotic: one police officer stood by the door meanwhile the other one was questioning one of the professors, the female half looked pretty terrified, quietly discussing something in their group. in a corner, two english language professors were in their own little world, arguing about some topic as if nothing was happening.

the president walked up to the professor who was being questioned.

"... yes, I was, as a matter of fact, acquainted with kim garam's parents, but, alas, we were never close, I wouldn't even say we were friends."

"they said you had a pretty close relationship with kim garam." the officer stated, looking through his little notebook. "what do you have to say about that?"

"ah, well, in the beginning of the academic year she began coming up to me after lectures and telling me she was having difficulties understanding some topics which were discussed. naturally, we stayed after classes to talk about what exactly she didn't understand." the professor took a minute to think. "it seemed to me, though, that she did not need help at all."

"what do you think was the reason she stayed after classes?"

"that is a good question, sadly, I don't have the answer to it." he replied. "I mentioned this to one of the professors during lunch break and some students overheard our conversation. unfortunately, this did not go the right way and students started a rumor about garam falling in love with me. everyone began thinking the reason she stayed was simply to spend time with me alone."

"that is a reasonable theory, isn't it?" the officer asked, looking around for reactions from others. "what are your thoughts on it, professor min? when you think back, how did she behave?"

"the thing is, thinking back I don't think she had any feelings for me at all, instead, I felt like she was staying after classes because she didn't want to leave alone. usually after finishing, we walked together out of the university, our ways parted in front of the alleyway that led to her apartment." he continued. "she seemed like she was afraid of something, I noticed an anxiety habit of scratching her wrist whenever we left the campus."

"that is valuable information, professor, did she act the same on the day she went missing?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you much. garam stopped coming to me after classes because of the rumors... it's been about a month since she stopped. I forgot about it all and didn't pay much attention, to be honest. the day she went missing was like any other day to me." professor min exhaled loudly. "now thinking back on it, I should have at least talked to her. I don't know why I turned a blind eye on such strange behavior. especially nowadays, women are constantly targeted by freaks and pedophiles."

"do not blame yourself, sir, we will get to the bottom of this and figure out what was going on."

"oh she was a very hardworking girl." professor soo butted in after bringing the officer a cup of hot green tea.

"oh, you shouldn't have." the officer said, gladly accepting the hot beverage. it was freezing cold outside and the heaters seemed to be barely working today.
"what do you have to say about kim garam?"

"it's difficult for us to answer this question, officer han, she is a first year and only half of the academic year has passed. personally, I saw she tried her very best to be on the same level as everyone else.

"nevertheless, it didn't seem like she was liked by other students that much" professor jeon remarked, walking up to the officer. "I mean, the year has just begun and it started off for her with ridiculous rumors. consequently, nobody looked at her the same way as before ever again."

"oh professor jeon is very close with our students, they like him a lot since he is the youngest and closest to their ages." professor soo laughed quietly, she was leaning against a table with a cup in both of her hands.

"anything else you could tell me, sir?" officer han asked, flipping a new page in his notebook.

"I am not sure..." professor jeon thought for a while before responding. "if it would be of any help, I know kim garam had a little something for jang wonyoung. she really hated her... but I don't know the reason."

"thank you for this information. may I question some of your students?" after receiving approval, the officer took out another small notebook, this time it was blue instead of black. "please tell me your names, ages and occupations, gentlemen."

"I am jeon jungkook, 28, and I am one of the professors of law and politics here at yonsei university." the younger male stated.

"I am min yoongi, 34, law professor."

"alright, please state your phone number and address as well. I will contact you if I will need anything else regarding this case."

...

"name, age and occupation, miss." officer han asked the young girl in front of him. he got to her just in time after a lecture.

"are you supecting me for something?" she looked confused.

"not at all, I am simply here to ask some questions which will help me with the investigation."

"oh... alright, I guess there's no harm in that." she sat down on one of the empty chairs in the auditorium and gently flipped her hair back and straightened her back before speaking. "my name is jang wonyoung, I am 19 years old and I am a student studying law at the yonsei university. you also need my phone number and address I guess?"

"yes please."

wonyoung handed the officer a red card with her name and personal information. the officer slowly took the card, glancing back at the girl with a weird and confused look.

"I am preparing for my bright future as a lawyer in the early stages of my life. as bright as the beautiful shade of red on this card." she said with a little smile. "first step? print out business cards."

"isn't the first step... finishing your bachelor degree?"

"you see, officer, I am slightly impatient." she paused. "and extremely confident."

"well, best of luck." officer han responded with a chuckle before taking out his little black notebook and clicking open a pen. "could you please tell me everything you know about kim garam? any information may be valuable."

"um, kim garam...? why are you asking about her? I thought this was about the keys that went missing from the faculty lounge a month ago."

"keys...? no... I believe that's not exactly a job for the police. but, have you not heard yet? kim garam went missing a day ago; on monday after classes she did not return home." he explained with a bit of grief in his tone, but still remained professional. "I was told that you had a rough relationship with her. what seemed to be the matter?"

wonyoung took a moment to process what she had just heard.
"um... I am definitely surprised by this, but I don't know what to tell you, sir. her hatred was one-sided. honestly speaking, we never ever talked property! she just hated me for no specific reason, gave me dirty glances and purposely bumped into me in the hallways... she was acting so strange and for what reason?! no wonder nobody likes her."

"any thoughts on why she would feel this way towards you? theories?"

"I really have no clue, officer. I have thought about it, don't get me wrong, I am also curious. the only thought that came to me might seem reasonable, but I doubt it's enough to give this amount of negative feelings. unless, of course, she is mental." wonyoung understood she might bring suspicion onto herself by showing her true feelings towards the missing student, but she knew she was innocent and, most importantly, confident that she could protect her rights no matter what, after all she was going to become a lawyer.
"I was chosen as one of the ten people who get a scholarship which covers your entire tuition fees for the first year. I guess she wanted it and thought I didn't deserve it. although I most definitely did! it was based on your performance throughout the last three years of high school. maybe she should have worked harder, that's all."

"and did you two know each other before university?"

"no. which fails my theory. there were two more girls out of those ten chosen ones who are also studying law. why did she choose me specifically to hate?"

"could it be... a girl thing?" officer han suggested.

"I wouldn't say I'm popular or breathtakingly gorgeous. what is there to be envious of? most of all, the academic year just started." wonyoung exhaled. "ah, it's useless, officer. I decided to stop creating theories to justify her actions and just went with the fact that she's mental."

"do you know anybody who hung out with kim garam? or at least maybe you noticed them talking in the hallway once or twice?"

"oh well, you could try asking park sunghoon. he's my childhood friend and he's here studying criminology. I think he talked to her once but I am not sure, we never discussed it." wonyoung got out her phone and scrolled through her gallery. "this handsome guy also studies criminology, but he's a third year and I don't know his name."
she showed a photo to the officer.
"there are so many students that it is rare to accidentally meet the same person often, but this guy really caught my attention so I took a photo."

"without his permission? that is illegal, miss future lawyer." officer han smiled brightly after writing down the needed information in his notebook.

"oh uh- I don't think I've learned that yet, haha, well, anyways I'll get going if this is it." wonyoung pulled on a little fake smile and grabbed her things.

"you may go, thank you for your time, miss."

☂