Chapter 8

When Jin Yunho and Shin Donghae left Seoul National University, it was already 10 PM.

In the car, Jin Yunho closed his eyes, deep in thought, recalling the scenes from a few hours ago.

"Ah." After thinking for a while, Jin Yunho, feeling frustrated, took out a cigarette and started smoking.

Damn it! If they could investigate openly, it wouldn't require so much effort.

If they could just reveal their identities and question everyone, immediately taking any suspicious individuals back to the prosecutor's office for further questioning, they could quickly uncover the issues. Why would they need to put in so much effort, even pretending to be lecturers to give lectures to college students?

Seeing Jin Yunho's brows almost knitted into a knot, Shin Donghae felt a bit sorry and consoled him, "Boss, don't dwell on the case. Go home and get a good night's sleep, and think about it tomorrow."

Jin Yunho smiled wryly but didn't say anything.

It wasn't that simple.

When he was a detective, he had developed the bad habit of not being able to sleep well if he couldn't solve a case.

Now, as long as there was something he couldn't figure out, he couldn't sleep. How could he sleep now? Besides, this case was related to a deal and his career. The faster he solved it, the better it would be for him. He couldn't afford to be careless.

After thinking for a while, Jin Yunho decided to work through the night, continuing to analyze the case.

When Shin Donghae heard that Jin Yunho decided to return to the prosecutor's office to work all night, he was extremely surprised: "Boss, why put so much pressure on yourself? You'll break down. Listen to me, go home and get a good night's sleep."

Swish.

Suddenly, something flashed in Jin Yunho's mind. He flicked away the cigarette in his mouth, grabbed Shin Donghae's arm, and said excitedly, "Stop! Repeat what you just said."

Noticing Jin Yunho's unusual expression, Shin Donghae immediately knew he had thought of something. Without asking any silly questions, he repeated his words.

"Pressure, breakdown, yes, those are the words. I've found the direction for the investigation! Hurry, let's go back to the prosecutor's office!" Jin Yunho's face was filled with excitement, as he had finally found inspiration to solve the case.

Earlier at Seoul National University, he had felt a heavy, oppressive atmosphere throughout the campus. This was especially evident when he met the classmates of the victim, Lee Minjun.

He heard that the 100 people who attended the lecture tonight were all preparing for the judicial examination. However, Seoul National University, to maintain its high pass rate and reputation as the top university, only provided 50 examination slots.

In other words, these 100 people had to compete fiercely for 50 examination slots.

Competition brings pressure. When the pressure is high, people become irritable and easily agitated. When people are agitated, they can lose control of their emotions and act impulsively:

For example—Lee Minjun, under immense pressure, might have said something extreme, which provoked the equally stressed criminal. In a fit of rage, the criminal attacked Lee Minjun!

After roughly piecing together the sequence of events, Jin Yunho now needed to find out what had caused such immense pressure on Lee Minjun, leading to his emotional outburst and provoking the criminal.

If he could find this, he could reconstruct the case, narrow down the investigation, and identify the criminal.

After hearing Jin Yunho's analysis, Shin Donghae nodded vigorously, fully agreeing, "Boss, you're amazing. You can deduce the key points of the case from a seemingly insignificant comment."

"Stop flattering me." Jin Yunho, who had just thrown away his unfinished cigarette in a moment of excitement, was now regretting it. He smiled while smelling the lingering scent of the cigarette on his fingers.

Back at the prosecutor's office, the two of them began working.

On the way, they both agreed that as a college student, the pressure on Lee Minjun could only come from his academic performance or a romantic issue.

When Jin Yunho investigated Lee Minjun's roommate in the afternoon, he learned that there were no romantic issues. Therefore, Lee Minjun's academic performance became the focus of the investigation.

In South Korea, academic achievement is highly valued, and universities take the recording of grades very seriously, with dedicated personnel responsible for this task.

It was very easy for a prosecutor to investigate someone's grades. All they had to do was log into the education website and enter their work ID to access the information. With this level of access, even a trainee investigator like Shin Donghae could handle it.

After pulling up Lee Minjun's transcript, Jin Yunho analyzed it in detail and indeed found a problem.

Lee Minjun's academic performance was only average, ranking in the middle among the 100 law and politics students applying to become prosecutors, around 50th to 60th place.

However, his grades had recently improved significantly, especially his graduation thesis, which received an excellent evaluation, boosting his overall ranking to 40th place, almost securing him a spot in the judicial examination.

Logically, improved grades and securing a spot in the judicial examination should be a good thing and shouldn't cause pressure.

But if these grades were obtained through cheating, that would be a different story. The guilt and fear of being caught could cause immense psychological pressure.

The current clue pointed to Lee Minjun's thesis grade, and Jin Yunho felt much more relaxed after finding this lead.

"Ah... Boss, are you hungry? It's already 12 AM. Do you want me to order some food to tide us over?" Shin Donghae yawned and suggested.

The work of a prosecutor is not easy, and overtime is common, especially with difficult cases, where prosecutors often work through the night. Therefore, there were several 24-hour restaurants outside the prosecutor's office, making it very convenient to order takeout.

Jin Yunho and Shin Donghae had only eaten once at the university cafeteria since noon. Now, feeling relaxed, they were indeed hungry. He nodded and ordered, "Sure, I'll have two bowls of jajangmyeon from Xiao Nan Restaurant."

Shin Donghae responded and called to order the food. Jin Yunho was about to doze off on the table when his phone rang, playing a pleasant Canon in D Major.

He lazily pulled out his phone, "Hello, who is it?"

"Lee Xiaoran, are you asleep yet?" A pleasant but weak voice came through.

"Lee Xiaoran? Oh! No, I'm just finishing up the investigation and waiting for the food. What's up?" Jin Yunho initially didn't recognize the caller, as he wasn't good at remembering names. He only remembered Lee Xiaoran because she was the victim's sister.

"Nothing much, just can't sleep. I wanted to ask about the progress of the case," Lee Xiaoran said.

"Average. We just found a lead and plan to investigate it tomorrow," Jin Yunho replied, holding the phone between his head and shoulder.

"Oh? Can you tell me what the lead is? Never mind, you're at the office, I'll come over myself." Lee Xiaoran suddenly raised her voice, hung up without giving Jin Yunho a chance to respond.

Damn! I didn't expect that dignified and composed woman to be so impulsive.

Jin Yunho pursed his lips, lazily put away his phone, and continued to doze off on the table.

Half an hour later, a sweet and savory aroma wafted into Jin Yunho's nose, waking him up.

He got up, opened the packaging, mixed the noodles and sauce, and started eating voraciously, as he was really hungry.

Shin Donghae also ordered jajangmyeon, but he didn't have as big an appetite as Jin Yunho and only ordered one bowl.

The two of them ate without regard for their appearance, slurping loudly and getting their mouths covered in dark brown sauce.

Not long after, someone else entered the office.

Jin Yunho and Shin Donghae, sitting side by side, bent over, raised their shoulders, and with half-eaten noodles in their mouths, frowned and looked at the newcomer.

When Lee Xiaoran entered, she saw this comical scene.

Seeing the newcomer was Lee Xiaoran, Shin Donghae, mindful of his appearance, wiped his mouth and handed Jin Yunho a tissue.

Jin Yunho thanked him, wiped his mouth, and said, "I didn't expect you to come so quickly. The environment isn't great, but please find a place to sit."

He got up and poured a glass of water for Lee Xiaoran, "We don't have any fancy drinks here. I guess you won't be used to the cheap tea, so just drink this."

"Thank you." Lee Xiaoran took the water with a smile, still remembering Jin Yunho's awkward appearance earlier.

Lee Xiaoran was wearing a white shirt with a floral collar, looking fresh and elegant, a purple short skirt showcasing her full hips, and black fishnet stockings on her thighs, looking sexy and alluring.

Sitting across from Lee Xiaoran, Jin Yunho, from his angle, could see her alluring legs.

He quickly shifted his attention from her legs back to his jajangmyeon.

But after a few bites, he felt incredibly awkward. A beautiful woman sitting across from him, staring intently as he ate, made him feel very uncomfortable.

Jin Yunho pushed the untouched bowl of jajangmyeon in front of Lee Xiaoran, "This bowl of jajangmyeon hasn't been touched."

"Thank you, but I don't eat this kind of food," Lee Xiaoran said, her sexy lips slightly parted.

Hearing this, Jin Yunho shrugged and pouted, giving her a look that said, "If you don't eat it, you'll regret it."

He finished the first bowl of jajangmyeon in a few bites and then, without hesitation, took Lee Xiaoran's bowl and started eating it.

Watching Jin Yunho slurp his noodles, Lee Xiaoran was somewhat curious. Was the takeout jajangmyeon really that delicious? Why was he enjoying it so much?

.............................................................

Sorry, there was a strong wind at home, and the power went out. It just came back on, so this chapter is a bit late. The next chapter should be updated after 10:30 PM. If you can't wait, you can read it tomorrow morning. With the update tomorrow morning, you can read two chapters at once. Yes, that's it.

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