"Manager Oh, do you know which guest he's talking about?"
"...Yes. He's been staying at the hotel for a week. But even for you, sir, as the company's president, disclosing a guest's personal information would be difficult."
"Kidnapping someone's pet is a crime, isn't it? Wouldn't it be a serious problem if a crime took place at the hotel?"
"But we don't know that for certain. I can't hand over a master key based solely on what this detective says."
The manager looked at Hae Dam suspiciously.
"Did anyone actually witness this guest kidnapping the parrot?"
"No one saw the kidnapping itself, but a witness saw Zahir locked up in the room where the criminal is staying."
"Could you bring that witness here first?"
"It was another guest, but they had an urgent appointment and already left."
Since the witness was a crow, Hae Dam had no choice but to lie.
Lying was something he was thoroughly accustomed to. He'd spent his entire life doing it to everyone except two people.
"The witness said a small, adorable, sky-blue parrot was locked inside a cage. They didn't even realize it was a birdcage because it was covered with black cloth, but they saw the bird when the man briefly lifted the cloth to feed it."
"……"
"The culprit must have seen the missing-parrot flyers and searched the area around the hotel, intending to steal Zahir. After all, the parrot in the flyer was wearing a diamond around its ankle."
"……"
"He wanted the diamond, and he probably assumed a parrot belonging to an oil prince would be an incredibly rare species. But Zahir turned out to be an ordinary Pacific parrotlet. Now that he's removed the expensive diamond ankle ring, he's probably wondering what to do with the bird. The parrot itself isn't worth anything, so he might even kill it. We have to rescue it quickly."
Hae Dam was growing increasingly desperate, but the expressions on the others' faces remained uncertain.
When it became clear that they weren't about to listen, he changed his tone, making his voice softer and gentler.
"I understand... All I have is a witness's testimony, with no physical evidence, and I couldn't even bring the witness here. Of course it's difficult to believe me. But that awful man definitely committed a premeditated crime. Every moment counts... I just want to save that bird..."
Hae Dam clasped his hands together as though praying. He lowered the ends of his eyebrows and arranged his face into the most innocent expression he could manage.
Given his naturally delicate, adorable features, the effect was usually considerable.
This approach worked almost every time.
Seeing the uncertainty in the manager's eyes, Hae Dam pressed his advantage.
"I'll take responsibility for everything afterward. If that guest turns out to be innocent, I'll get down on my knees and apologize. I'll take all the blame. The hotel refused to cooperate, but I secretly stole the master key without permission. I'll make sure the hotel doesn't get into trouble. Please?"
"...Very well. But you must keep this absolutely secret."
In the end, the manager handed over the master key.
"Just the four of us will go up," Ji Seokwon instructed. "If that guest turns out to be innocent, things could get complicated. Don't bring any other employees."
Following his instructions, no other hotel staff accompanied them.
Only four people entered the elevator: Ji Seokwon, Ji Jeongwon, Secretary Yoon, and Hae Dam.
Ji Seokwon folded his arms and looked down at the crown of Hae Dam's head before asking sourly, "How sure are you that the parrot is in that room?"
"One hundred percent."
"I hear you can talk to animals."
While Hae Dam had been searching for the parrot, Ji Seokwon had done some investigating of his own.
This was the first time he'd ever seen his younger brother show such intense interest in another person. Naturally, he couldn't resist finding out more.
The young man's name was Hae Dam. Apparently, he worked as both an animal detective and an animal communicator.
He accepted cases exclusively through email, without maintaining an official blog or any social media accounts.
He was well known within the industry as a highly capable detective, but very little was known about his personal life.
The only detail Ji Seokwon had managed to uncover was that the detective was twenty-three years old this year.
The reviews of Detective Hae Dam were remarkably consistent.
Comments
Supernatural powers...? People certainly throw that sort of thing around easily.
Of course, Ji Seokwon didn't believe any of those reviews.
There was only one reason he was following the brat now.
His younger brother was following him without a word.
"It's not so much that I can literally talk to them. I can understand what they're feeling from their behavior and the atmosphere."
"Interesting. Don't tell me the witness who supposedly saw the parrot was actually an animal, too?"
"Gasp! How did you know?"
Hae Dam spun around in astonishment.
His expression so clearly said How did you figure that out!? that Ji Seokwon, who had only been joking, was startled himself.
Does this little brat genuinely believe he can talk to animals? Why the hell is my brother so interested in a crazy, mentally disturbed bastard like—
Ji Seokwon stopped himself mid-thought.
Horrified by what had just crossed his mind, he shook his head violently.
Unfortunately, thoughts couldn't be taken back, no matter how much one regretted having them.
He felt awful.
"What's wrong? Do you have a headache?"
"...Yeah. I'm getting a headache worrying that there won't be a parrot in that room."
"I'll go into the room alone. If Zahir isn't there, the hotel could end up getting dragged into trouble."
"Sounds like you're not so sure yourself. If you're one hundred percent certain he's the culprit, you shouldn't have anything to worry about."
"I'm one hundred percent certain, but you're not. I'm trying to put your mind at ease."
"No, we're certain, too. The parrot is in that room."
The last remark came from Ji Jeongwon.
Only then did Hae Dam turn to look at him.
Ji Seokwon could also see his younger brother's face reflected in the elevator's mirrored wall.
He looked strangely tense.
Ji Jeongwon was always tense around other people. He would become stressed in advance, wondering what new kind of exhaustion the person in front of him might inflict on him.
But this tension was different.
Anticipation...? Is he actually looking forward to something?
It was astonishing.
Ji Jeongwon had never had any need to anticipate how another person might respond to him.
"What makes you so sure?" Hae Dam asked.
"Because I trust you, Detective."
"Why do you trust me?"
"Because I know you're not lying."
"Well, I'm not lying. But most people start by doubting me. How can you trust me when we've only just met? Even people who've read my reviews and contacted me themselves ask whether I really found their pets that quickly. Some of them still look suspicious after they've checked every marking on a dog to make sure it's actually theirs."
"I suppose I'm not like most people."
"……"
Hae Dam looked up at Ji Jeongwon.
For a brief moment, something passed between them that made it difficult for anyone else to intrude.
Ding.
Just then, the elevator arrived.
As though he'd already forgotten their entire conversation, Hae Dam hurried out.
Everything happened quickly after that.
Hae Dam immediately stormed the kidnapper's room, only to discover something so outrageous that it left him speechless. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
The men inside were conducting an illicit diamond transaction.
The buyers were three foreign men who appeared to be of the same nationality as the culprit.
["W-what the hell? Who are you people!?"]
["How did you get in here!?"]
"You pieces of trash!"
Of everyone in the room, Hae Dam was the smallest, yet he was the first to charge forward.
The kidnapper underestimated him and threw a punch.
But before Hae Dam could even react, Ji Jeongwon appeared from behind him.
He caught the kidnapper's fist with one hand, then immediately delivered a spinning kick that sent the man's jaw flying sideways.
BANG!
The kidnapper crashed to the floor.
He could do nothing but groan, unable to get back up.
"Eek!"
One of his accomplices stumbled backward, grabbed the first object within reach, and swung it wildly.
Unfortunately, that object happened to be a heavy metal chair.
Ji Jeongwon nimbly dodged the blow and drove a powerful fist into the man's abdomen.
Hae Dam, who had been ready to fight, could only blink in a daze.
"That's my little brother. He's a martial arts black belt holder."
Unable to let such an opportunity pass, Ji Seokwon hurriedly began boasting about his brother.
"Surprising, isn't it? I know. He looks like some sheltered prince who's spent his whole life in a greenhouse."
"Actually, he seems more like a sleeping prince surrounded by thorns than one raised in a greenhouse."
Ji Seokwon was privately startled by how unexpectedly accurate that description was.
His younger brother really was a prince who had been cursed and had retreated into a thicket of thorns of his own accord.
In the past, he'd resolved time and again to leave the thorns behind, but he had never managed more than a few steps before retreating into them once more.
And now, the poor prince had even decided to spend the rest of his life there.
Ji Jeongwon swiftly subdued the kidnappers.
Just when it seemed the situation had been brought under control, footsteps sounded from behind them, and several more men appeared.
"Ha! Just how many bastards are involved in this smuggling operation?"
"Please don't call them bastards. They're humans, not dogs."
"Then what the hell am I supposed to call them?"
"Just call them trash."
Hae Dam immediately clenched his fists at the sight of the trash.
But once again, he was denied any opportunity to distinguish himself.
Ji Jeongwon seized one man by the collar, lifted him clean off the ground, and hurled him forward.
Ji Seokwon tripped the other man, climbed on top of him, and twisted his arm behind his back, torturing him.
"Aaagh! Hurts! Breaking! Aaagh!"
Apparently, one of the men knew some Korean, because he began screaming about the pain in broken, awkward phrases.
"Hey, how much were you bastards planning to sell that diamond for?"
"Th-thirty... thirty million... Let go! Breaking!"
"Thirty million? Thirty million? You interfered with someone else's business deal for a measly thirty million won? Do you have any idea how much money we've lost because of you? We were in the middle of a three-hundred-billion-won deal, you fucking bastards!"