2 Chapter 2

Let's watch the CCTV footage in front of Villa No. 302.

When she arrived there, Arum had pressed the password on the lock pompously. She must have heard some sharp sound of error on it. She inputted the password for several times before taking out a key from her bag. When the key didn't work, she bawled and wailed.

"Hey!" She kicked the door and pushed herself against it.

Finally, she examined the sticker glued to the door and called somebody.

Most likely, she had called a locksmith.

She even fell asleep while she was waiting for the locksmith.

When he arrived, she bowed to him politely.

While watching her behavior last night, Arum felt distressed. Now she began to trace her memory clearly.

She remembered she had said, "I really can't recall the password you gave me at that time. You changed it at that time. The lock here is wrong, so change it."

Scrutinizing her from head to foot, the locksmith got down to work. Though he did it quickly, she fell asleep again. Finally, the front door was opened. She presented her credit card to pay for his service.

"I don't accept card."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

Taking out several notes from her wallet, she asked, "How much did you say? I don't have enough cash. Wait a minute."

"Hey, since I know you, let me take the cash. Just wire the remaining balance into my account."

"Thanks." Bowing to him politely once again, she went into the room.

The screening of the CCTV footage ended there.

Feigning ignorance, however, Aurm talked back, "Yesterday? Did I do that?" But nobody seemed to believe her. Even her friend Jina didn't.

"I'm sorry," said Arum. She couldn't raise her head.

It seemed that guy, whose villa she broke into, was not finished yet.

"I've got another evidence with me. Can you take a look?"

No, no!

But she had no other choice but to watch his cell phone full of her own pictures.

The look of her sleeping on the sofa was bizarre, and her meticulous make-up was a mess.

She felt ashamed, but at the same time she got upset at the fact that he took pictures of her lousy behavior secretly.

"Don't you think this is a violation of portrait rights?"

She lost her temper, but she should have refrained from it.

The policeman intervened, "We call this an evidence. As he reported this incident to us right away, we took measures to preserve the scene as it was, but he did have the right to take the photos just in case, which was good."

Now, Arum realized that all the people had turned their backs against her, including her long-time friend Jina.

Crossing his arms, the guy moved his legs and stared at Arum.

She felt a prick in her heart.

If she could have her own way, she wanted to have a big argument with him. But she couldn't because of that hard evidence.

The guy asked the policeman for the next move while looking at her, "What should I do about her now?"

With a smile, the policeman answered, "I recommend both of you to resolve the matter amiably."

"Absolutely. I'm so sorry. Do you think I went to your place on purpose? Damned alcohol, these nasty drinking habits of mine are to blame…"

In recent years, she had never acted more subserviently than now.

The policeman tried to cajole him into settling the matter with her, "Why don't you take into account each other's position and settle the matter smoothly? Arum Han, don't forget to wire the remaining balance of 300,000 won to the locksmith's account."

"Sure, can I do it now?" she asked, taking out her cell phone.

But the policeman gestured her not to do so. Her priority was to settle the case, not to pay the locksmith.

The guy was not persuaded by the policeman and Arum.

He presented conditions for the settlement.

"You have to pay for the cleaning, including quarantine. If you know any cleaning company, you can contact it. You shouldn't clean by yourself. Please contact a professional cleaning company."

Why should I pay for the cleaning work?

She felt his condition was unfair.

"Why should I pay for it? I think it's unfair for me to pay for the quarantine expenses." she asked, widening her eyes. How could he tell her to pay for quarantine expenses just because she slept on his sofa briefly? She got upset.

But the guy showed her a picture in his smartphone. She couldn't identify what it was, but it looked disgusting. It looked like food waste.

"Didn't you notice your vomit here? Do you want me to clean it?"

Astonished to see that, Arum closed her mouth with both hands.

'Was it true that I vomited?'

She was so embarrassed that she did not know what to do.

The photos taken vividly told the truth about what she had last night.

She just felt ashamed to answer.

"So, do you want me to clean it?" he repeatedly asked her like a stalker.

"No, no, let me take care of it."

After hearing her reply, he showed her another photo.

"Look here! You also vomited in front of my front door."

"No way!" Arum desperately rejected.

How could a superb woman like Arum collapse because of alcohol? It was a terrible day.

"Well, you can confirm it in the CCTV footage."

His face was like that of a ten-year-old boy who kept at the argument tenaciously.

"Okay, let me wrap it up at this point. Can you settle for my request?" Then, he pretended to dust his hands off as if he were forgiving her generously.

Arum felt offended.

'Well, I know I did something wrong, but you can't make me lose my dignity! So what?'

She really wanted to talk like that, but refrained.

"So, what else do you want me to do?" asked Arum rather arrogantly, raising her head.

"By the way, I deducted what you took from my refrigerator," said the man.

"Oh my…' Arum instantly lowered her head.

"You really ate a lot of food from there. You even touched a white pottery…"

"I do remember the pottery! I didn't drink alcohol in it."

It was a poor excuse, of course.

"Well, you opened a bottle inside the pottery. It was a quality home-made liquor worth 380,000 won."

"I really didn't drink it."

She vaguely recalled a pottery bottle. As it was too heavy, she put it back into the refrigerator.

"Yeah, I wouldn't charge you for that."

Arum bowed to him quickly. She was too ashamed to express her thanks to him.

The man then stood up, without appreciating her thanks.

At that moment a middle-aged policeman, who was watching them at a distance, approached him, holding a book.

"Hojoon Lee, you must be the geomancy expert, right?"

The guy's name was Hojoon Lee.

"Yes, that's correct." He gently smiled when the police officer recognized him.

Arum, who had quick eyes for learning things, detected the police officer's hypocrisy.

'He's different on the inside and the outside.'

The police station instantly turned into a popular author's meeting with fans. Those making a noise at a distance came close to Hojoon.

The middle-aged police officer presented a book and said, "Can you sign your autograph here for me?"

The book was called <The Rule of Trash Bin>.

The moment she looked at the book, Arum recalled his name.

Ah! Geomancy master Hojoon Lee!

He was the very man who appeared in an educational TV program to lecture about the geomancy of making money and hitting the gold mine. He was popular. Arum read an interview piece about him a month ago on the occasion of his new book.

While he was getting Hojoon's autograph, the police officer said, "I feel it awkward seeing you here. It's better for you not to come to a police station."

"I know. This is the first time that I came here."

"Really?"

"I mean, it's the first time I that I've come here because of my personal affairs. I once visited a local police station to check out the geomancy of its chief's office."

"Oh, did you meet such a police chief?"

"Yes, he was promoted to a position in the police headquarters later."

Hojoon felt proud of it. Those officers who gathered around him began to gossip about him.

The middle-aged officer got more interested because he was on the waiting list of promotions.

"Wow, you're great! What's the secret?"

"In fact, places like a police station or courthouse related to lawsuits are avoided by geomancy talkers. You're sick and tired of criminals, right?"

While saying that, Hojoon's eyes met with Arum's.

He continued, "By the way, I hear there were an unusually high number of incidents in every place that the police chief was assigned to. As a result, he was promoted many years later than his peers, so this time he desperately asked for my help because if he failed to get promoted this time, his juniors would overtake him."