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....

"Mr. Song!"

Yohan turned around to see Jina standing there. "Jina," he noted. "I'm surprised to see you here. The Hwang's normally do not attend this...sort of party."

He was looking disdainfully at the cheap decoration. If the Jung's were not a prospective partner, he would not have attended this gathering which was clearly not very well done. His attitude was as cold as ever, not flinching from his usual aloofness. The only reason he was talking to Jina was due to the fact that her father's company is his biggest investor.

"I didn't get the chance to properly convey my condolences to you," Jina said. "That day...It was quite rough for you and your family."

"It was nothing much," Yohan shrugged. "Tragedies happen."

He spoke as if commenting on the weather, not the death of his only child.

"Umm, Rachel's autopsy will be complete by tomorrow so you can collect the body-" she began.

"I'll ask my secretary to pick it up," Yohan said. "I have a meeting tomorrow and then an event the next day. I'm completely booked for the next five days. I'm afraid her funeral will be held next week. Do you have a morgue where we can keep her body until the day of the funeral?"

Unbelievable, Jina thought. How could a man be so cruel? Did he really not care about his daughter's death at all?

"Your daughter died and yet you seem to be living life as if nothing happened," she noted. "As a cop, I have to admit that's suspicious."

"Life has to go on," Yohan remarked. "If I sit and cry for all tragedies, then I won't be able to get anything done. Her mother is distraught but I'm sure after her usual detours, she'll recover in no time."

Usual detours? Jina frowned.

"Now if you may excuse me, I have to meet someone," Yohan went on. "I'll see you around."

With that, he walked away. Jina was now even more suspicious of the Song family. The father was a stone cold bastard but his words made her alert. She took out her phone and dialed Jiwoon's number.

"Boss," Jiwoon greeted.

"Track Yoo Seohyun's activities," Jina instructed. "Her husband just told me something which makes me suspect that she's hiding something. Look into her mobile locations, bank account. Everything. There's something amiss. Also, did you find anything in Rachel's possessions?"

"She's been having a secret affair with a college guy," Jiwoon replied. "We went over to his place but to our shock, he had an accident and was in a coma. It happened after Rachel died so we looked into his alibi. Turns out, he was at his college library that night. Apparently, it was exam time so he was studying. We checked the CCTV cameras. But we found videos of him and Rachel having sex. Also, Rachel had transferred ten grand to his account. He must have been blackmailing her."

And that got him into a coma, Jina added in her head.

"Anything else?"

"A burn book," Jiwoon stated. "Kinda like how they did it in that movie, Mean Girls. She has a diary full of secrets about all her classmates. This girl wrote down all their dirty laundry but there are two pages missing. One was dated a month before her death. The other one was dated three years ago"

Two missing pages? Jina was now convinced that Rachel's death was linked to those two missing pages.

"And get this," Jiwoon went on. "She and her ex, Jung Hyojin, got back together a few days before her death. He was seen at her house on the night of her murder. I think we have enough evidence to at least bring him in for questioning."

"Send a team to his house on my signal," Jina said. "His parents are here at the hotel now. If we take him in without his guardians present, it'll get us into deep trouble. They can even sue us. Wait for them to go back home after the party and then bring him in."

"Understood," Jiwoon replied and hung up. Jina was now thinking hard. Rachel and Hyojin were together that night but who's the second person? She wondered.

She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she did not notice a tall figure approaching her.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Jina jumped and turned around to see Siwan. He was flashing a charming smile at her. Wearing a dark beige suit with neatly parted side hair, Siwan looked was carrying off a rugged handsomeness which would probably appeal to a lot of the women. Some were whispering loudly, pointing at the new arrivee.

"You were invited too?" Jina exclaimed happily.

"As the heir to the Kang family, I was," Siwan sighed. "I didn't want to come but I spotted you. You look beautiful!"

"Thanks!" Jina beamed. "But you didn't bring a date?"

"I…" Siwan hesitated. He had wanted to ask Jina to accompany him to the party but after seeing on the TV about how she was handling Rachel's case, he backed out thinking that she would be too busy. But now that he saw her there, he was berating himself for not asking her sooner.

"My date couldn't make it," he lied. "So I came on my own."

"Which dumb girl will say no to a handsome guy like you?" Jina wondered.

"Would you have accompanied me if I had asked you?" Siwan teased but in reality he wanted to hear her answer.

"At any other party, yes," Jina replied. "At this one? Your date is lucky she skipped. So far, I doubt anyone is liking it here."

She pointed at the disgruntled guests who no longer hid their dismay. The party was boring with no entertainment and the lavish buffet set out was too bland for them. Even the drinks were not upto the mark and there was a rising anxiety among them. Mrs. Jung was in a fix, running around the whole palace trying to appease the guests.

"I can see that," Siwan nodded. "She's just a budding socialite. She has a long way to go."

"With the attitude she threw at me today, she'll be fighting an uphill battle," Jina sighed. Just then, a slow music began to play and the lights of the hall went dim.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please do enjoy waltzing on the dance floor with your partners," the MC of the evening announced.

Siwan held out his hand for Jina.

"May I have a dance with this beautiful lady?" he asked.

"Duh!" Jina laughed and took his hand, leading him to the dance floor. The two old friends were smiling and laughing. Siwan put his hand on her waist and stood close to her. He gazed at her lovely face, still unable to fathom how beautiful she looked.

The moment he entered the party, his eyes fell directly on her and he was taken aback by her smile, shining brighter than a star. As they slowly spun around on the dance floor, his heart was beating wildly against his chest. Jina was softly smiling at him and she felt totally comfortable with her old friend, unaware of what was going on in Siwan's heart.

"Hey, you're a good dancer!" she complimented him.

"Maybe it's coz I'm with you!" Siwan said. Jina merely laughed and followed his lead. They swayed to the slow music which resonated around them. Siwan's focus was totally on her, not moving his eyes off her. It seemed to him that time had stopped and it was just the two of them who were embraced in an eternal dance.

Unbeknownst to him, a lone figure was watching them from afar. Hobin stood on the edge of the dance floor, his eyes fixed on his brother and Jina who looked like a couple.

For some reason, there was a hollowness in his heart which was tormenting him. He did not know why but his insides felt as if someone had grabbed them and was twisting them in a sadistic way. The two of them were so lost in their own world that there was no space for anyone else in their bubble.

He slowly backed off, turning away from them. The jealousy towards his brother which he had hidden away for so long was now erupting again and Hobin hated himself to feel like that.

"Siblings are complicated," he muttered in dismay. He did not look back and quietly left the party.

Jina thought she saw a familiar silhouette leaving through the front door but her view was blocked by Siwan.

"What happened?" he asked when she looked around.

"Nothing," she said, shaking her head. "Nothing at all."

But her gaze was still on the entrance as if hoping to catch a glimpse of someone.