Namjoon's POV
"It seems the Gray Wolf has been prowling around the fields a lot these days." Father told me through the phone. "I-I take responsibility for that, Father! But I'm simply trying to protect the honor of the Kim family..." "'Ye are the salt of the earth.'" "Huh?" "'If the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?' Keep your eyes on your brother. That is all I require of you." That’s all father said before he hung up. "So I'm nothing but a paper tiger with a good reputation..." I put down the phone and looked at the newspaper in front of me and stared at the photo of Yoonji together with General Sejin. "Yoonji..."
Third Person POV
It was a sunny afternoon when Yoonji and her assistant were going to pay a visit to the Bismuth Royal Academy but were side tracked by the food vendors in the small town. "It's delicious!" Yoonji told her assistant, Holly. "Isn't it? By the way, sir, is there a place around here where we can hire a carriage?" Holly asked the store owner but Yoonji had already ran towards a moving carriage. "I need a ride!" Yoonji yelled to the driver. "Wha— Madame!" Holly ran to where Yoonji was but bumped into a man making their belongings fall. "I beg your pardon, sir!" Holly quickly got back up and took the case in front of her and ran to catch the carriage, not noticing that the man she bumped into had a similar one as well.
Jimin's POV
"There's a visitor to the library?" I asked Hoseok ssaem as we walked to where the visitor was. "That's right. She came to donate volumes from her own private library, but insisted on taking a tour of ours while she's here. Thank you for your patience, Madame Kim. He'll show you around." "Yoonji-ssi?" "Oh, it's you! I see! You're a student here! Gamsahamnida!" Yoonji-ssi said while squishing my face. "Pleaseee!" "Jimin, you know her?" Hoseok-ssaem asked me. "Y-Yes. We've met..."
*Flashback to the day after Talos incident*
"Yoonji? I see, you met her in Heraklion." Yoongi said. "Yeah. What's her relationship with Inspector Kim?" "Namjoon has been in love with her ever since they were children." "I-In love?" "Of course, she doesn't know a thing about it. Incidentally, she's the reason why Namjoon's hairstyle is like that." "Come to think of it, the inspector told me that was the price of having you solve some case." "Yoonji was involved in it."
*Back to Real time*
So she's Inspector Kim'... "Oh my! That looks like a snake!" "How amusing! It certainly is!" I heard Yoonji-ssi and Holly-ssi talking about the strange red hedge in the school compound. S-She's a bit odd...
"Tell me, how is Namjoon these days? I intend to pay him a surprise visit after this!" Yoonji-ssi said. "Oh, really?" "I don't like the man very much. He strikes me as arrogant, and he has a sharp tongue..." Holly-ssi said. "Oh? He wasn't like that back then. He won't tell me why he has that hairstyle no matter how many times I ask him. But Namjoon is a renowned police inspector now. I'm proud to be his friend." I see, she doesn't know anything about the truth. "What a beautiful garden. Maybe I'll plant those flowers in our garden too." It's not my place to tell her either. Who would believe that the actual great detective is up there?
Yoongi's POV
I was disturbed by the sound of the library door opening. "Hmm? Was that Jimin? Honestly, that man does nothing but disturb my peace..." "It's incredible! Yoo-hoo!" HUH "Yes!" "Excuse me, Madame. If we don't hurry, there won't be time to visit the police station afterwards..." "That won't do. Still, it's rare to be able to come to a famous place like this." I heard the lady say. "This library?" I heard a familiar voice… Jimin… "Yes, indeed. According to legend, at the beginning of the 17th century, when this academy was founded, the then-reigning king built a refuge so he could rendezvous with his lover. That place is the botanical garden on the top floor! Ooh! I can't stop myself after all! I'll be right back." "Wait, Madame!"
"No, not upstairs!" I looked down to see what was happening. "Who is that noisy starving ostrich of a woman?!
"This staircase is like a maze! How delightful!" I could hear them running upstairs. I need to hide. I can't be seen. "M-Madame! Please wait! Halt, I say!" "L-Listen to her! Ugh..." "Madame, please wait!" I was panicking and was trying to hide myself in the cabinet. "Don't go up there! Stop!" Jimin... "There's a, um... golden monster up there!" I heard Jimin yell. "A monster?!" "Yes! And if it finds you, you'll be eaten like a macaroon!" I heard Jimin say again. Stupid Jimin! That wasn't nice! "Let's go back down!" "Delightful", huh? If that's what she wants, I'll acquiesce and have her shaking like a leaf! "A monster, a monster! Wheee!"
"Wait!" I sat on top of the cabinet I was going to hide in and stayed still… I was trying really hard not to shake. I-I'm not scared at all... Since stupid Jimin is here too... "This must be the place!" I heard the lady say "Where's the monster? Huh? Oh my! A life-sized bisque doll!" she said and lifted me up. "What an adorable doll! Amazing... it's like it's actually alive! It's warm?" she said. "Correct. Sorry to disappoint, but I am alive." She screamed and let go of me and I hit my head with the table. "Oww!" "I'm sorry! Are you a student here at the academy? Would you like a strawberry lollipop, little boy?" "Of course." "I'm Kim Yoonji. What's your name?" "Oh, you're the one..." "You know about me?" The woman asked me.
Jimin's POV
"Actually, he's Inspec—" I was stopped by Yoongi hissing at me. "By the way, why did all of you take the trouble to come up here?" Yoongi asked Yoonji-ssi. "Well, we've come to donate these books..." Holly-ssi explained to us while opening the case. "Er..." "There aren't any books inside." "Face lotion, skin cream..." I guess she brought the wrong case…. "B-But where..." Holly-ssi exclaimed. "Perhaps the case was switched?" Yoonji-ssi said.
Third Person POV
"I absolutely need that case! Please!" a man pleaded to the police officer to help him search for his lost case. "What is it?" Namjoon asked as he came into the room "Sir! He's demanding that we search for his merchandise case. It seems that he bumped into some maid at the plaza, and they took each other's bags." The officer explained the man's situation to Namjoon. He took a careful look at the bag and saw something very familiar.
"That crest..." he went back to his office to make sure that the case had belonged to Yoonji. "Yes, Yoonji is indeed visiting your place. How strange... she hasn't popped in to say hello to you yet?" General Sejin said through the phone. "W-Why?" Namjoon asked him "She went to donate some books to the Bismuth Royal Academy. Apparently, she found them in the attic while she was packing for a vacation." General Sejin replied "What the devil?" Namjoon said as he let out a sigh after hanging up.
Jimin's POV
"I'm really sorry, Madame..." Holly-ssi apologized for the nth time. "Oh, don't worry about it. Anyway, isn't the ceiling just beautiful?" Yoonji-ssi asked her. I looked at Yoongi who was facing towards the rail of the stairs with books surrounding him. "Yoongi, are you angry?" "Not particularly..." "Q... That's the name of the chipmunk I had back then. He had a mark on his back that looked like the letter "Q". Looking at you just now somehow reminded me of him." Yoonji-ssi told us as she went closer to Yoongi. "A naming process lacking in intelligence or relevance. And I'm offended with what you— Wait. I remember this..." "Several years ago. About the time the subject of marriage first came up between me and my husband. Q died from an illness...and I became the suspect in a murder case." Yoonji-ssi told us. Wait… does that mean...
"Excuse me, but was the victim..." I was stopped by Yoongi's glare… again. "Yes, he was the veterinarian who treated Q. He died at home from a stab wound to the chest. The doctor used the last of his strength to write the letter 'Q'. You could say it was his 'dying message'." "'Q', like your..." "Yes. Just like Q's 'Q'. But that's not all. At the funeral, words mysteriously appeared on the arm of Paula, the doctor's wife. Word spread that it was a message from the dead doctor. Looked at in a mirror, it read... 'Yoonji murdered me.'" Her words surprised me. "Certainly, since ancient times, mirrored writing has been used in magic rituals. In short, everyone who was there took the words as an accusation from a dead man." Yoongi said breaking the silence. "You're well-informed, little boy." Yoonji-ssi said. "Naturally. My wellspring of wisdom informs me." There's no mistake... This is the case that Inspector Kim asked Yoongi to reconstruct years ago.
Namjoon's POV
*Flashback*
"Namjoon! What's with the serious look on your face?" Yoonji asked me at the café. "Come on, smile! Come on, come on!" She said while making weird faces. "Yoonji, you're depressed, aren't you? You always do silly things whenever you're feeling low. You'd wander outside in a daze with your hair still messy from sleep... Yet you'd still be surprisingly cheerful. This time, too. Look at all the impulsive shopping you did." I told her. "T-That's just..." "I heard about the murder case. It's inexcusable how people are spreading irresponsible rumors." I said. "I don't blame them. It's true that those magic words appeared. I'm thinking of turning down Sejin's proposal. We do have fun together and get along well... He does look like a carp, but he's cute if I take a closer look. Still, he's with the police. I don't want to cause him any trouble." Yoonji told me.
*End of flashback*
"Yoonji..." I got out of the carriage when I reached the gate of the academy. "Damn you, Gray Wolf. If you told her anything you shouldn't have... I'll get you for it, no matter what Father says!"