Chapter 136: Chapter 136
.
I took my hand off the mouse and touched my chin. Many things weighed on my mind.
While talking about the incident in middle school, it sounded like the person knew about those times very well. Nonetheless, What they were saying wasn’t true at all. Maybe they were someone who went to the same middle school as Ban Yeo Ryung; however, how could this person attend the same high school as her? The only students from Ji Jon Middle School who entered So Hyun High School were the Four Heavenly Kings, Ban Yeo Ryung, and me. Contemplating for quite a while, I finally gathered my senses after hearing a voice ringing in my ears.
“Hey, did you see that? Isn’t it obviously the same school as yours? That was why I told you. I also checked a few other posts and thought that it would be someone among her friends. You know, the plastic ones… you said that there were a few of them around her in middle school too.”
“Yeah,” nodding my head, I listened to Dam Eun’s words with a serious expression.
“Those b.i.t.c.hes could also exist in high school. Honestly, the best way to learn about the ident.i.ty of this person is to track their IP address and release the ident.i.ty. Still, you know that I’m not good at those things… do you know anyone who can do that?”
“Oh… hold on, I think there is. Thanks so much, Dam Eun. If I didn’t know about this, then it would be…”
Yes, there was a way to figure out who the person was. First, I checked the date of the post about the incident in middle school; June 7th, it was today.
The mock test season would arrive in less than a week, so the person who was posting such things around this time must have a lot of free time unless they genuinely hate Ban Yeo Ryung. How could I leave this person beside her then?
Repeating my words of grat.i.tude to my friend, Dam Eun, a few more times, I hung up the phone, I then texted Jooin.
To: Son
Son, do you… know how to track IP addresses?
Sent by: Son
Tracking IP address? I know how to do it, but…
Why? What do you need it for?
Geez, Woo Jooin was indeed brilliant. I sighed while thinking, ‘No one should ever have Woo Jooin as their enemy.’ After a moment of silence, I typed another text.
To: Son
Kind of complicated… can you just come over?
Sent by: Son
OOK
It was a clear response.
I couldn’t see Jooin while I’m here looking like this, so I washed my face and hair. While blow-drying, I heard someone knocking on the door. ‘Hold on!’ Rechecking my overall look, I found that there was nothing particularly weird about how I looked. I then went to the front door.
As soon as I opened the door, I smelled something like rain. A wet breeze came through the open door. Before stepping inside, Jooin put his umbrella beside our apartment wall. Looking at the number of water drops around him, I could tell that it was drizzling outside. Jooin’s tangled hair made it clear that he rushed straight from his house to mine.
I, however, frowned when I saw someone unexpected walking inside our house after Jooin. ‘What the…’ That was when I decided to speak.
“Why are you here?”
“Woo Jooin and I were in his house. What else can I do if he’s not there?” Eun Jiho said with a shrug.
I became at a loss of words. Well, what could I say after that? Besides, it was not that strange for Eun Jiho and I to stay together with us. As I nodded with conviction, he spat out some words while taking off his shoes.
“Dude, did you see Yoo Chun Young’s name on the trending searches?”
Eun Jiho then slightly pulled his silver brows up naughtily. His words made Jooin pause his steps while he was walking towards my room and glanced back. There was a hint of seriousness within Jooin’s golden eyes. I wasn’t sure if he was sending me an alert or implying something else.
I replied shortly, “Um, yeah, but how did Yoo Chun Young know the actress, Lee Nara? Have you heard anything about it?”
“Do you need to know someone in person to point out that they’re your ideal type?”
“Oh, that makes sense.”
Woo Jooin, who watched me while nodding, suddenly furrowed his brows before turning his head to look at Eun Jiho. He spoke in a calm and subdued voice, which I seldom hear from him.
“Eun Jiho, stop teasing mama.”
“Dude, how could I be teasing her?”
Regardless of Eun Jiho’s response, Jooin, who turned his head toward me, flinched one of his eyes as if he felt a bit awkward. He then continued his words, which made my jaw drop.
“Mama, the person that Lee Nara was talking about wasn’t Chun Young.”
“What?”
“It’s Eun Hyung, not Chun Young.”
The closest guy to model Yoo Chun was none other than Eun Hyung, who wasn’t even a celebrity. Since I could hardly understand it, I grimaced. Eun Jiho, who was behind me, gesturing at the computer.
When I returned to my chair, Jooin came closer to me and tilted his head toward the monitor. While looking at his glowing white cheeks in front of the bright monitor, I flung a question again.
“How does Eun Hyung know that actress?”
Fixing his gaze at the monitor, Jooin pouted his lips to reply.
“Lee Nara’s real name is Woo Rinara.”
“…”
‘Hold on, so that means…’ as soon as I said those words to myself, Eun Jiho’s clear explanation followed.
“Do you think it’s common to have an outlandish name followed by the surname, ‘Woo?’ She’s Woo Jooin’s cousin.”
“Holy cow.”
“Rinara also has a brother, whose name is Woo Rihon. This family, I swear! Them and their meaningful-sounding names!”
While my eyes widened in silence, Jooin, who was scanning the monitor, added in a flat tone.
“Rinara noona once had Eun Hyung’s food and fell in love with him so much after that. Sometimes, she would say that she wants to kidnap and marry Eun Hyung when he turns into a legal marrying age.
“Aren’t we soon turning into that age?”
“Well, Eun Hyung isn’t the kind of guy that someone could kidnap easily, though. Oh, do I need to reveal the ident.i.ty of ham310?”
“Yeah,” I nodded.
Jooin’s golden eyes, aimed at the monitor the whole time, became a little narrower, so I left him to do his thing in his lonesome. As I sat beside Eun Jiho, he asked me with a stare.
“Did you get surprised after seeing their names on the trending searches in the morning?”
“Nope.”
“What a pity.”
“Why?”
Sealing his lips tightly with a vague smile, he didn’t respond. As I learned that he wouldn’t tell me anything, I raised my head to look at the living room.
There were still no lights there. Sitting inside a silent s.p.a.ce with only the sounds of mouse clicking, I heard the faint noise of the raindrops falling on the windows.
While I gazed at the sharp shadows hanging below the rainy windows, Jooin’s voice came into my ears.
“It seems that they’re only using the ID ‘ham310’ for this club. I couldn’t browse anything else from this.”
“So?”
“I have a cousin who’s an expert on this, so I think it’ll be better to ask her. Let’s do that.”
“Okay.”
Jooin rose from his chair. The faded white light from the monitor waved on his face, leaving a faint shadow. Watching his face through the dim light, I noticed that Jooin looked different than usual, for he seemed a little darker and scarier. He then held the desk and murmured, while tilting his head slightly to the monitor.
“The numbers and the letters trouble my mind.”
“Huh?”
“Those who know mama’s birthday would think that you own this ID.”
Although I didn’t react that loudly, I was, honestly, quite surprised. I also had that thought in mind but tried to move on while considering that it was just a strange coincidence; however, it was none other than Woo Jooin, who pointed out that fact.
In my head, Ban Yeo Ryung and Woo Jooin belonged to the same category. When they were together, their behaviors and actions matched well, and both of them would act so similarly that one might confuse them as brothers and sisters.
However, just because the actions and tones that they showed outwards were similar, it didn’t mean that the qualities that laid within them were also the same. This was obvious from what Jooin just said. Ban Yeo Ryung had a naïve and good outlook towards the people around her; she would never cast doubt on someone before she became a.s.sured. Jooin, however…