Desire

Jiyeon drew her breath and pressed the doorbell.

There was no response on the intercom, and the door simply opened.

The moment it happened,

"AAAAH!"

Jiyeon screamed, taking a step backwards and falling down.

Yu Minji was standing with a knife.

"WHAT!"

"Are you the prosecutor?"

"Yes, I'm Cha Jiyeon! Why are you–"

"Show me your ID."

"Ah–"

Jiyeon was so shocked that she took out her ID card with trembling hands and handed it to Yu Minji.

Yu Minji peered at it with a suspicious look on her face.

She was turning it in her hand to check whether it was fake or not.

The image of her with a knife in one hand and Jiyeon's ID card in the other was a bizarre sight.

Satisfied, Minji returned Jiyeon's ID card.

"Come in."

As soon as she was inside, she slid the knife back into a woodblock next to the sink.

"I'm sorry I scared you."

"It's okay. I understand."

Only a week had passed since the man she loved was brutally stabbed to death.

It was understandable enough behavior.

"Do you want coffee?"

"I already drank coffee, thank you."

"Then shall we have tea?"

"That would be great."

She let Jiyeon sit on a chair next to the table as she prepared the tea in the sink.

The place was a typical studio apartment, designed as one room without any partitions.

A bed, a dresser, a desk and a table for two.

It was similar to Jiyeon's place, and as well most people who lived alone in the city of Seoul.

After a few minutes she handed Jiyeon a cup of tea and sat across her.

"Here's your tea."

"Thank you."

Jiyeon gently blew on her cup then took a sip.

The tea was fragrant and had a delicate and soothing taste.

"It's delicious."

"It's tea I bought from Vietnam."

"I see. Can I record our conversation?"

Jiyeon lifted her cell phone and Yu Minji nodded her head.

"You know about my relationship with the vice chairman, don't you?"

Her sudden introduction of the subject almost surprised Jiyeon.

"Ah, yes. We learned about it when we checked the phone records."

"I thought so."

"Thank you for agreeing to meet with me, I hope it isn't any trouble."

"If there's anything you need to investigate, please do it as soon as possible."

"Oh?"

"I'm going abroad next month."

"I see…"

"I'm not sure if I can stay in this country."

"It must be difficult for you."

Jiyeon felt sympathy towards Yu Minji and the loss of her passionate relationship with Seo Minhyeok.

It was understandable why she would hold a knife to visitors.

"I don't know who killed Minhyeok."

Jiyeon noticed she switched from using the term "vice chairman" to "Minhyeok."

It could mean that Minji was starting to feel more comfortable around her.

"Yes. I know if you knew you would have contacted us first. If you can, please tell me everything that happened between you and Vice Chairman Seo Minhyeok. Even if you think it doesn't have anything to do with the case, it could be a clue."

"Is that possible? It would take a year to talk about everything that happened between us. The love that we shared together…"

Tears welled up in her eyes.

Jiyeon's heart broke for her.

"The people around you didn't seem to know about your relationship. It was hard hiding, wasn't it?"

"No, it wasn't hard at all."

Oh…Jiyeon felt a swell of admiration towards her.

She was so strong. And she was around twenty-five?

"Even if we couldn't tell anyone, as long as I was beside him I was happy."

"You loved him a lot."

"Yeah. I loved him for who he was. Not because he was part of a huge conglomerate, but just as a man."

Jiyeon nodded silently without interrupting.

The first thing to do was to encourage Yu Minji to open up.

"He loved me the same way. He never treated me as a subordinate."

Yu Minji held herself with a dignified manner.

Was it because of her anger towards the person that killed her lover?

Or was it because she missed him?

Was it her desire to be seen in an unseen relationship?

Jiyeon asked her next question carefully.

"May I ask how you two first met?"

Yu Minji slowly closed her eyes.

And went back to the moment she first met Minhyeok.